


You Seriously Wear Capes In This Universe?

by thefutureisequalaf



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-09
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-03-15 16:46:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 30,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13617507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefutureisequalaf/pseuds/thefutureisequalaf
Summary: “You seriously wear capes in this universe?”Kara smiled. “Just a few of us. Is everyone in your universe this friendly?”The woman shot her a tired, sarcastic look. “Don’t. I could pulverize your bones from the inside out.”Kara raised an eyebrow. “My bones might surprise you.”When their pursuit of a Hydra operative leads them through a transmatter portal, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Daisy Johnson and Barbara Morse come face-to-face with the protector of National City.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm breaking my recent policy of not posting a work until it's mostly done because I want to see if people are into this. I'm not having the best few weeks ever, writing-wise, and your feedback would go a long way.
> 
> Relation to series timelines: For _Supergirl,_ this is set near the end of season 2. For _AoS,_ this is set during the first half of season 3.
> 
> There is an actual city near San Diego named "National City" (population ~59k). The city in the _Supergirl_ canon is a fictional creation which resembles Los Angeles (population ~4M). If it eases your mind, assume that the _SHIELD_ universe doesn't contain the real National City. If this note confused you, then just forget it. It's not important.

**_Prologue._ **

_“Kara, I have a favor to ask. I’ve been dealing with a suspicious alien, and I want to ask Supergirl about her. Would you put us in touch again?”_

When Supergirl arrived in Lena’s office, she smirked at the CEO. “You know we don't all know each other, right?”

Lena lifted a photo from her desk. “Have you seen this one before?”

Kara had. “Rhea,” she growled.

“You don’t like her,” Lena observed.

“She is bad news. Whatever she wants,” Kara warned, “do not give it to her.”

Lena let out a humorless laugh. “She wants me to build a giant transmatter portal. She says it's to ‘get home'.”

Kara's eyes went wide. “For Rao's sake, don’t do it.”

Lena scoffed. “Of course not. I’m not a fool. She’s trying to play the mentoring mother figure I never had, but I’m not about to launch a giant engineering project to build something so transparently dangerous. I'm stringing her along so she doesn’t go find someone who is a fool. Supergirl, I know you work with government support. Can they bring her in?”

“They can, but I don't know how long we can hold her without a charge. What we really need to do is, like, deport her from the planet.”

Lena smirked. “She’s just handed me the technology to do it. I'll get to work on a small, one-way portal. You and your friends can tell me where to send her.”

Kara smirked back. “With pleasure.”

* * *

_**Now.** _

Bobbi drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. “Can you hear the beacon?”

In the passenger seat, Daisy closed her eyes and focused on her sense of vibration. Fitz had built a chip which vibrated at a distinct frequency not found in nature, which she could sense from miles away. “It’s more like a feeling, but yeah. Great work planting it,” she added, remembering the lengths Bobbi had gone to in order to hide the chip in the Hydra courier’s bag. “That was the riskiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Bobbi shrugged. “If it was easy, they would’ve had Hunter do it.”

Mack’s voice came over the radio. _“They’ve made the exchange. Subject is on the move, driving a maroon sedan.”_

“That’s our cue.” Agent Morse put the car in gear and pulled out into the afternoon traffic of suburban San Diego. Two blocks ahead of them, the courier had just handed the bag, containing extensive Hydra financial records, to an Inhuman Hydra agent. Now, their job was to follow those documents to their destination, where Agent May, following overhead in the Quinjet, would land with her tactical team to make the arrests.

The Inhuman possessed a simple ability: he could turn non-corporeal. As a ghost, he couldn’t interact with the physical world, nor could it interact with him. In practical terms, it meant any attacks he saw coming would pass right through him, he could jump through walls and doors, and he couldn’t be held prisoner. During a previous encounter, however, Daisy discovered that a precise vibrational frequency prevented his body from turning ghostly, which inspired Fitz to design a special set of handcuffs. They contained a vibrating element, like the beacon chip, that would stop him from escaping. Bobbi carried them in her belt pouch.

Taking advantage of the tracking beacon’s range, they tailed the Hydra agent from a distance as he drove from the suburbs into the city. Half an hour into the mission, he turned off the main highway and into an industrial park near the harbor. Daisy checked their GPS navigation. “This road is a dead end. May, get ready to move in.”

From the cloaked Quinjet overhead, Agent May’s voice responded, _“We’re ready.”_

A moment later, Daisy pointed straight ahead. “The door on that warehouse is opening.”

Bobbi saw it, too. “May, it might be the warehouse right at the end of the road – what the hell?”

Framed within the big warehouse door was a glowing blue semicircle.

_“Agent Morse?”_

“I’m seeing something inside the warehouse that looks awfully like a teleportation portal. It’s big enough to drive a car through.”

May swore. _“We can’t lose this guy. Can you follow him through?”_

“We’re way behind, but we’ll try.” Bobbi floored it and raced to catch up. “Dammit, we need to be right behind him or else they’ll shut it off before we reach it. Daisy, can you push us faster?”

“I’ll try.” She twisted and stuck her hand out the window, then sent a hard push of energy behind them, propelling the car ahead.

“That’s good! Give me everything you can!”

Daisy glanced forward. They were catching up. Inside the building, the glowing portal cut out, then came back on.

“Get us right on his bumper, Daisy,” Bobbi said.

As they shot through the warehouse door, a bump launched them a few feet into the air, hurtling towards the Hydra agent’s car and the portal. In another second, they’d-

* * *

Daisy pushed herself up on her hands and knees. Damn, but this ‘getting thrown around’ crap was wearing thin. She touched her head – yep, it’d need ice soon. She became aware of the smell of smoke and looked for the source. It was obvious – the smoldering wreck of a car. The front half of a car. A closer look explained how she’d been thrown from the vehicle; the seatbelt reels were in the missing half of the car. Presumably, the portal had closed as their car was passing through it, leaving the rest behind. They’d barely escaped being sectioned themselves.

She got to her feet and looked for Bobbi, finding her face-down in a garden plot a few yards away. As Daisy went to her, she heard a siren in the distance. That was welcome. Now that S.H.I.E.L.D. was in the public’s good books again, they could work with the police.

Bobbi was unconscious, so Daisy rolled the agent over gently and set her in a comfortable position to wait. Next question: could she sense the tracking beacon? She closed her eyes and felt for it. Yes, there it was, heading away. Not very fast, though. The Hydra agent must be driving so as not to attract attention. That probably meant he saw their crash and thought he’d lost his pursuers, so they had some time to collect themselves before they went after him again.

In the meantime, she needed to report in. Judging by the suburban scenery, they were still in southern California, so they might still be in radio range. “May, this is Agent Johnson. Come in, over.”

No reply.

Alright, but the Bus was in the air, and it would have better radio reception at its higher altitude. “Coulson, this is Agent Johnson. Come in, over.”

Nothing.

“Any SHIELD agents, this is Agent Johnson. Please respond.”

Dead silence.

When the first police car rolled up in front of them, all of Daisy’s ideas went out the window. The side of the car read _National City Police Department._ Where the hell was National City? There was no way she hadn’t heard of a major California city before. That meant…

_Shit._

* * *

“Whoa, that is not supposed to happen.” At his desk in the DEO, Winn raised his eyebrows and sat upright. “Okay, today just got a lot more interesting.”

“Do you have something to report, Agent Schott?” J’onn leaned heavily on the professionalism in his words.

“Sir. Yes, sir, yes, um… look.” Winn sent the view on his monitor to the big display on the wall. It was a video from a police car dash camera, and it showed a young woman in some sort of specialized black-ops outfit and metal gauntlets. Two officers stepped into the field of view, hands at their holsters. The woman held her hands up to show she was unarmed, but also sidestepped towards a similarly-clad woman on the ground. The officers grew tense as she bent and picked the woman up in her arms. When one officer held up a hand and drew his gun, the young woman said what looked like ‘sorry’ and aimed one palm at the ground. She closed her eyes for a second, then shot straight up out of view, staggering the officers back in the process.

“Indeed.” J’onn folded his arms. “Gather everything you c-”

“Can from all sources,” Winn finished, “before, during, and after, and pursue whatever leads I find. On it.”

* * *

Alternate universe. She was in a fucking alternate universe. That could mean anything. SHIELD could be the bad guys here. The emergency cash she carried might not be accepted. They might not be able to get replacement batteries for their radios. Britney and JT could still be together. She had no idea who to trust, where to go, or what to do.

No, it wasn’t so bleak as that. She’d lived the rogue life before, so she knew how to handle herself. It was obvious what to do, too: she had to take care of Bobbi, hunt down the Hydra agent, and get home. Simple, right?

She’d set down in a spacious backyard. Leaving Bobbi out of sight, she used a few surgical vibrations to open a window, entered the house, and returned with first aid supplies. She found Bobbi awake. “Where are we?” The blonde agent asked.

“We,” Daisy answered as she cleaned a cut on her forehead, “are in another universe.”

Bobbi’s eyebrows rose. “Damn. How do you know?”

“The cop cars have California license plates but say ‘National City Police’ on the side.”

“Huh.” Bobbi made a face. “What the hell kind of a name is ‘National City’?”

“I know, right? I saw a postcard inside that was addressed from ‘Metropolis’, too.”

Bobbi huffed. “Wow, so creative.”

“The thing is, though,” Daisy wondered, “why would Hydra come here at all? I mean, I would’ve thought the portal would take us to whoever’s supposed to receive those documents.”

“If I had to guess,” Bobbi ventured, “I’d say that was their plan until they saw us coming. They wouldn’t risk teleporting us right to their secret headquarters or wherever. Did you see the portal turn off and on again? I bet that was them changing the destination to here in order to throw us off. Their man loses us in this environment and takes another portal back. Speaking of which, can you still sense that beacon in this universe?”

“Yes. It’s getting faint, though. We shouldn’t wait much longer.”

“Good. Can you do your energy jump?”

“Yep, that’s how I got away from the police.”

“Then they’ll be looking for us,” Bobbi noted.

“Yeah.” She looked at the blonde agent and then at herself, both in their dark tactical suits. “It’s not like we stand out, though.”

Bobbi chuckled. “With any luck, there’s a National City Comic-Con going on.” She clung tight to Daisy, who focused energy downward and launched them into the sky again.

* * *

Alex smirked at the video. “I like the ‘sorry’. It’s a nice touch.”

“I know, right? We get so many subjects with no personality at all. Wait ‘til you see how they got here, though.” Winn pulled up video from a red light camera. There was a flash that resolved into a glowing semicircle from which one and a half cars emerged, the latter airborne, before it blinked out of existence. “I don’t have any other angles, so I can’t say for certain that the two women we saw came through in the half car, but we know that whoever was in the whole car didn’t wait around for the police.”

“That’s something that stood out to me,” J’onn said. “They must’ve heard the police sirens, but they didn’t run until after they arrived. I think they expected to have some authority or recognition, only to realize that they were someplace where they had none.”

Winn cocked his head. “Then where are they from? They came through a portal into suburban southern California, but apparently weren’t bothered at all until the police showed up. The officer’s report said the one woman was sitting like she was waiting for them until just before they parked.”

“Hmm…” Alex considered the whole picture. Someone comes through a portal and acts at home until they discover that they aren’t... “We’ve had visitors from parallel universes before,” she suggested.

“That’s an idea,” J’onn said. “Maybe they didn’t expect the portal to take them out of their universe?”

Alex nodded. “Then, when they realized they weren’t in Kansas anymore, they bolted. Do you think they might be pursuing the occupants of the other car?”

“It’s possible,” J’onn concurred. “Without knowing whether and why, though, we have to treat them all the same.”

Alex turned from the monitors. “Usual protocols for alternate universe aliens?” J’onn confirmed it. “Winn-”

“Already on it.”

“Good. I’ll let Kara know that there’s someone new in town.”

* * *

“Okay, Alex, but you’re not exactly giving me much to go on. She can jump really fast, maybe using her hands?”

_“Kara, when we learn more, you’ll be the first to know.”_

“Sorry. Thanks for the heads-up, Alex. Gotta go.” Kara put her phone away as she stepped through the doors to Lena Luthor’s office.

“Kara.” Lena rose from behind her desk and greeted her with a beaming smile. “Thank you for agreeing to my proposal.”

Kara smiled back, equally bright. “Of course! It’ll make an awesome feature. Besides, how will people know what great things you’re doing if nobody tells them?”

“All this good press might earn you a reputation as an L-Corp shill,” the CEO warned.

Kara grinned. “Then you’d better follow through on your promises to change the world. Prove me right, Lena.”

Lena smiled again, softer. “We make a good team.”

“Yeah.” For a moment, all Kara did was gaze into the reflection of Lena’s smile in her green eyes.

Lena bit her lip, in that way she always seemed to do for Kara. “Come on, let me show you our labs.”

* * *

“We’re getting close.”

By leaps and bounds, Daisy had followed the tracking beacon towards National City’s downtown. As the environment grew more densely populated, however, they were forced to keep a lower profile and travel on foot. Now in the glass canyons of the city’s business district, Daisy nodded in the direction of a skyscraper. “That way.”

Bobbi looked up at the sign high on the building. “L-Corp,” she read.

“Welcome to the universe of creative names,” Daisy muttered.

“Probably rebranded from something else,” Bobbi suggested.

By the time they reached the building, Daisy was sure. “He’s definitely in there.”

“Alright. Let’s see what Hydra wants at this L-Corp…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will come soon. In the meantime, please share your thoughts in the comments :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Wow._ You all blew me away with your response to the first chapter! I worried it might not have enough drama to get people hooked, but it's now my most kudos-ed, most subscribed, and most commented first chapter ever. Literally, I’m too overwhelmed to reply to every comment. You are amazing :)

Lena was on a roll.

The CEO of L-Corp dragged Kara from lab to lab, gushing to her about her company’s research and development efforts. Biotech, nanomedicine, smart materials, advanced recycling, quantum communications… the technical aspects went over Kara’s head, which was probably good, because she was going to publish an article on it all, but Lena made the aims of each project relatable. The woman practically glowed. Kara had the mental image of a girl showing off her science fair project, and her smile grew. She loved Lena like this. If she could channel this passion and optimism into her article, maybe people would see-

The lights went out.

Lena’s glow darkened into a frown, which she aimed at the ceiling. “We don’t have power outages in my building.”

Kara gave her a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”

“We have backup batteries and generators on an uninterruptable circuit. This isn’t supposed to happen.” She made a call on her phone. “This is Lena Luthor. What’s going on?” As Kara watched, the CEO’s frown deepened. “I see… No, I’m in Lab C-11… Alright.” She hung up and turned to Kara, looking grim. “There’s an intruder and the building is in lockdown. That’s why the lights are off. We’re to wait out of view until my security team gets here.”

As Kara processed the news, her own phone rang. With a sudden sense of dread, she answered. _“Kara,”_ Alex’s voice said, _“there’s a security breach at the L-Corp building. It may be the woman we described or others from the same universe. I don’t know what they expect to find, but I wouldn’t be surprised if L-Corp is working on transmatter technology. You need to get there and hold them until we arrive. If there’s a portal there, prevent them from bringing anyone else through.”_

Swallowing hard, Kara answered, “O-okay.”

_“Is something wrong, Kara?”_

Kara shut her eyes. “I’ll be right on it.”

_“Okay. Stay safe.”_

Kara hung up and faced Lena. The woman looked worried, as though she sensed something amiss. “What is it?”

Kara took a deep breath. No, this was good. She’d been too comfortable leaving Lena in the dark. This was the kick she needed to do the right thing. “Lena, there’s something I should’ve told you by now, and I’m sorry. I’m Supergirl. The intruder may be an alien, and I need to go.”

For a second, Lena looked like she couldn’t breathe, but she nodded. “There’s a security camera down the hall to your right, so move fast when you leave the room.”

“Thank you. Stay safe, Lena. We’ll talk as soon as I’m free.” In a flash, she was gone.

* * *

“I don’t like this,” Bobbi muttered.

Daisy huffed in agreement. They’d managed to sneak in through the L-Corp building’s freight entrance, but it’d been a near thing. Twice, now, only her sense of vibration had kept them from running face-first into guards. There was nothing they could do about the security cameras, though, except hope and move fast – which put them at greater risk of making mistakes.

“When security catches on that there’s an intruder,” Bobbi continued, “they’ll be one step behind him, too. They’re more likely to run into us than him.”

Daisy permitted herself a small smirk. “That’s what you brought me for, right?”

“That and to tell me which way to go.”

“Down. We’ll try these stairs.”

That’s when the lights went out.

Bobbi swore. “Either security is alerted or they’re about to be.”

At the bottom of the stairwell, the door to the lowest basement level had an impressive biometric lock, which Daisy vibrated until the bolt shattered. They exited into a wide, empty hall with doors and corridors branching from it. Daisy’s sense of vibration picked up a change in the Hydra agent’s footfalls. “He’s running.”

“Then let’s move. Take point and keep your senses alert.” They took off running through the hall. L-Corp had an extensive basement level and their quarry led them on a winding chase through it. “I get the impression he’s searching for somethi-”

_“Stop!”_

Daisy looked in the direction of the voice. A strong-looking young blonde wearing a long-sleeved blue top with a big red ‘S’, a short red skirt, long red cape, and knee-high red boots, with her fists on her hips and an intense expression on their face, entered the hall from a side corridor.

From the other direction, Daisy heard Bobbi mutter, _“The hell?”_

* * *

The two women in dark outfits glanced at her but didn’t stop. The shorter one with dark hair shouted back, “Stop the other guy!”

Kara wasn’t having it. She used her speed to put herself in front of them. “You firs-”

The dark-haired woman threw out her hands and a wave of force slammed into Kara’s chest. It took her clean off her feet and dumped her on the floor. The two women ran past her on either side. “No time to argue,” the one said.

Kara growled and bounded up. She did _not_ like getting swatted around. Aiming her eyes at the end of the hall, she fired laser beams over their heads. “I said _stop!”_

They didn’t stop. _“Get the other guy and we’ll talk!”_

“I can’t have you running around.” Kara took a deep breath and blew a cold gale at their backs.

The dark-haired woman spun just before the gust reached her and threw out her hands again. The freezing air stilled in front of her. “Go,” she told the taller fugitive. “I’ll hold her off.” As the other dashed around a corner, she took a fighting stance. “Listen, blondie, we’re not the problem.”

“If you took a second to explain yourself-”

“Don’t have a second. That man can’t get away.”

“He won’t, but you’re between me and him,” Kara warned. “I’ll go through you if I have to.”

The dark-haired woman flexed her fingers. To Kara’s ears, a faint hum seemed to radiate from her hands. “If that’s what gives my partner the time she needs, I’ll take my chances.”

Kara curled her fists and flew at her. A powerful wave met her in the air and pushed back, but it merely slowed her flight to walking speed over the ground. The wave kept coming, though, intensifying, until it was a cone of energy thrumming through the hall. Kara’s rush slowed to a crawl. “We could’ve talked this through by now!” She shouted.

The woman shook her head. “Don’t know you, don’t trust you. Too much at stake. Sorry, blondie.” One of her hands aimed at the ceiling above Kara. It shivered, rattled, crumbled, and collapsed on top of her. Mid-flight, Kara’s feet weren’t on the ground, and the falling weight knocked her to the floor. In the time it took to stand again, the other woman was gone.

* * *

Bobbi checked around the corner and moved into the next hall. Hopefully, Daisy could keep that costumed character busy for more than a minute, because pursuing someone through a building without getting killed was slow work. Thankfully, there didn’t seem to be anyone else around. Maybe the building was on lockdown. That would be the smart thing to do.

She glanced at the tracker on her wrist again. It was an electronic device to follow the beacon chip, but it was much less sensitive than Daisy; the range was one hundred yards at best, and much less inside a building. It was enough, though, to keep her on the Hydra agent’s trail. He was heading deep into the laboratory spaces of L-Corp. Bobbi wished she had time to pay attention to the labs she passed, because they looked fascinating. Biotech, materials science, microelectronics – the lot. Her scientist side wanted to geek out, but she had to focus.

Finally, she turned a corner into a dead-end hallway. Alright, that meant he was in one of the adjoining rooms. Bobbi was looking through the window of the third when bright blue light flashed under a door further along. Could it be a portal? She hustled to the door. It was locked; the Hydra Inhuman probably went through it as a ghost. Shit, this wasn’t good. The door was heavy steel and had no window, the frame was steel, the hinges were on the inside...

“I got it!”

Bobbi spun and saw Daisy dashing towards her. She stepped aside and her partner blew the door off its hinges. They rushed into the lab.

The Hydra agent stood at a control panel next to the sort of sci-fi-looking structure that makes portals in space-time. At the sound of their entry, he turned, aimed a pistol, and fired. Daisy waved the bullets aside. The man gave up shooting and hurriedly pushed more buttons on the panel.

“No you don’t!” Daisy sent a cone of energy which slammed him against the wall. She held him pinned as Bobbi advanced. “He’s all yours.”

“Thanks. I’ll get his wrists.” Bobbi reached into her belt pouch for the special handcuffs.

Twin laser beams lanced past their heads. “All of you, stop!”

It was that blonde’s voice again. Without taking her eyes from the Hydra agent, Daisy aimed one hand at the doorway behind her and sent a wave of energy in her direction. Bobbi, however, did look back, and saw the costumed blonde dodge the wave in a blur of speed. “Behind!”

Daisy kept her other hand aimed at the Hydra agent and turned her body. Their blonde pursuer rushed at her. “I have to drop him!” Daisy shouted before devoting her full attention to her assailant. Bobbi turned again and ran to the Hydra agent, who was regaining his footing. She drew her batons.

The man drew another pistol.

* * *

Either Blondie didn’t work well in confined spaces like the hallway, or else she’d had time to think of tactics while catching up to them, because she easily dodged all the waves Daisy threw at her. That was alarming; if she couldn’t keep her out of reach, this would turn into a hand-to-hand fight, and Daisy did not want to find out how hard this girl punched. “Bobbi! We need to go!”

At that, their blonde pursuer glanced towards Bobbi. Her eyes went wide, then glowed bright orange. Lasers fired from them. Daisy took advantage of her distraction and blew her across the lab, then turned and ran to join Bobbi, who was attempting to fight the ghostly Hydra agent with her batons. On the floor beside them lay a gun, the top of which looked like it’d melted. Daisy supposed the girl’s eye-lasers had done that. With a wave of energy, she knocked the man into the wall again, and then a gust of freezing wind tossed the SHIELD agents aside.

_“STOP! Everybody on the ground!”_

It was a new voice, one more accustomed to command. Daisy glanced back and saw a woman with short, dark-reddish hair leading a SWAT team into the room. “They brought backup, Bobbi,” she warned, getting to her feet behind a laboratory bench. “We really need to go.”

“Behind!”

She turned again and saw Bobbi running at the man, who’d somehow gotten back to the control panel.

“Stop or I’ll shoot!” It was the newcomer again, and it was a problem; SHIELD needed the man alive. For what she hoped would be the only time, Daisy put herself between the authorities and a Hydra agent, even as he activated the portal generator. She backed towards him, glancing over her shoulder. She needed three hands: one to cover the SWAT team, another for the blonde, and a third to hold the Hydra man for Bobbi. She had to pick two, and one had to be the man. She chose to guard against the people with guns. With a wave of energy, she pinned the Hydra man against the frame of the portal. Bobbi leapt and grabbed him, and then a blur blue, red, and blonde tried to seize them both. The girl got in the way of Daisy’s energy, and the Hydra agent turned ghostly and slipped free. Solid again, he stumbled through the portal. It closed behind him.

Now it was about survival. Daisy flung her hands wide and sent one shockwave at the SWAT team and another at the costumed blonde, knocking her against the far wall and causing her to drop Bobbi. Propelling herself to her fellow agent, she threw their blonde assailant back with another wave and helped her friend upright. “Hang on. This is gonna suck.” As Bobbi clung to her, she aimed one palm ahead and the other behind, then blasted herself forward. She sent a pulse of energy ahead and blew a hole in the wall for them. They shot through, passing through several rooms in succession, and stumbled into a hallway. Daisy reached out with her sense of vibration and felt for open spaces. “I think there’s a storm drain behind there.” She pointed at a wall. “That’ll get us somewhere.”

“Get us inside, fast. Collapse it behind us so they can’t follow.”

Daisy did, though she warned, “With how fast that girl got out from under the ceiling I dropped on her, I doubt that’ll hold her for long.” Bobbi nodded and they set off sprinting along the storm drain.

A minute later, as they exited to street level through a manhole, Bobbi swore. “That bastard got away and we’re stuck-”

“Wait.” Daisy paused and shut her eyes. “No, I can still feel the tracker. He’s still in this city.”

Her fellow agent sighed with relief. “That’s lucky. I guess he set the portal for wherever he could in a hurry? Let’s not try to apprehend him again yet, though. Let’s follow him and keep a low profile.”

Daisy nodded. “Sounds good. I don’t want to fight that girl again.”

Bobbi chuckled. “I don’t like anyone who shoots lasers from their eyes, although she did save my life with them.”

“And I don’t like losing.”

That won a smirk from Bobbi, who then raised an eyebrow. “Did you see the woman who led the tactical team, though?”

Daisy smirked back. “Why, was she noteworthy?”

Bobbi shook her head. “If you have to ask, Daisy…”

They disappeared into the city.

* * *

“Who’s in charge here?”

Kara and Alex looked up at Lena, striding angrily through the empty doorframe of her portal technology lab, and then at J’onn. “That would be me,” the head of the DEO answered.

Lena glared at him harder than Kara had ever seen. “Explain what just happened in my building.”

J’onn didn’t get defensive. “Some folks from another universe came here to use your transmatter technology,” he said calmly. “When Supergirl tried to stop them, they made a mess of the place.”

“A mess?” Lena looked pointedly around at the cracked walls, smashed equipment, and debris-covered floor. “That’s putting it nicely. These are clean laboratory spaces, or they were. It’ll take months to get them back to spec.” Lena sighed and lost some of her fire. “Seeing as the fight against world hunger is now on hiatus, if you want to use any of L-Corp’s resources in catching these ‘folks’, just ask.” She turned away and started a survey of her damaged laboratories.

J’onn, Alex, and Kara resumed their discussion. “Kara, what’s your assessment of the powered woman?”

Kara nodded. “She can project… waves? Some sort of vibrating energy from her hands. She’s powerful, but I can take her. The first time, the hallway limited me, and I was trying to go easy on her-”

“Kara,” Alex said in a reproachful tone.

She spread her hands. “Yes, I know, and look where it got me. She didn’t deserve to be treated like a hostile, though, not based on what we knew.”

“If you had, Kara,” Alex admonished, “we’d have all three of them in custody, where you could apologize to them as much as you like.”

“I know,” Kara repeated, and sighed again. “Teachable moment. Next person who doesn’t cooperate gets slammed against a wall first and reasoned with afterwards.” She bit her lip. “J’onn, if there’s nothing else you need me for, I need to go talk to Lena ASAP.”

Alex eyed her sister. “Does she know?”

“I was in a room alone with her when the lockdown happened. I couldn’t get out without her knowing.” Kara straightened her posture. “And it was past time she knew, Alex.”

J’onn nodded slowly. “Go talk to her.”

Kara left them and joined Lena beside the transmat portal machine. “I’m free to talk now.”

Lena let out a breath. “I’m sure you want to do this in private. Let’s step through here.” She led Kara through the hole the powered woman smashed in the laboratory wall. “The best chairs are in the next lab after this.”

Kara allowed herself to smile, sensing an encouraging familiarity in Lena’s tone. She’d feared the damage to L-Corp wouldn’t help her case with Lena, but maybe they’d get through this intact. Once seated, as close as the chairs allowed, she dove in. “Please tell me how you feel, Lena.”

“Honestly?” The woman tilted her head and let a weak smile onto her lips. “Relieved.”

“Relieved?” Kara echoed, surprised.

Lena nodded. “I said something to you once about knowing when a person is lying to me. I was never sure whether you’d told me an outright lie, but I had a sense you were withholding something. It was…” her smile inverted, and she looked away. “It was starting to really bother me. I wanted to ask what was going on, but I worried that you’d lie.”

Kara reached out and touched her friend’s knee. “I’m sorry, Lena. You deserved better. I got used to you not knowing and it was just…easy to play by the secrecy rules and keep doing what I’d been doing. I’m sorry. I should’ve told you after I started calling you my best friend.”

Lena swallowed. “It would’ve meant a lot.”

Claws raked through Kara’s heart. That opportunity to do something valuable for her friend was gone forever. She could’ve made Lena feel trusted… maybe even loved… Her hand slipped from Lena’s knee, and she hung her head. “I’m sorry. I failed you.”

“You did,” Lena agreed. “I’ll still forgive you.”

Even though she’d just said it herself, hearing Lena confirm it felt like a stab in the chest. How could she do this to Lena, who needed a best friend more than anyone Kara had ever met? Lena might forgive her, but she’d never forget. Lena would never forget how she, the person who claimed she’d care for her and stand up for her through anything, had hid who she was. She’d undercut every word and act which purported to show her trust. In the end, Kara Danvers treated Lena Luthor just like the rest of the world did. Rao, she was such a fraud…

“Kara?”

Kara opened her clenched eyes, but kept them pointed away. “I’m sorry. I get that things won’t be the same now. I-”

“Kara, what do you mean?”

With effort, through welling tears, she met Lena’s eyes. “I know it means nothing, now, but I hope I can still be there for you when you need it.”

“Means nothing?” Lena looked aghast. “Kara, stop.” She took a hard breath. “I feel like you’re pulling away from me. You-” she worked her jaw. “That would break me.”

Kara couldn’t speak.

“I’m…” Lena showed warning signs of her own tears and glanced up and away. “Lena Luthor isn’t supposed to need anything. I’m supposed to conquer the world on my own,” she said with a hint of bitterness, “but…” She looked back. “Kara, I need you.” There was nothing but sincerity now. “Don’t- please don’t…” the first tear rolled.

“Lena…” Kara didn’t know what to say. “Can I hug you?”

Lena sprang out of her seat. “I forgive you for hiding Supergirl from me,” she said when Kara swept her up in her arms. “When you said you’d be here for me, always, you gave me something I didn’t know I needed. I still need it.”

“You’ve got it,” Kara said simply.

“Promise me you won’t pull away.”

“I promise, Lena.” She didn’t want to ever let go of the woman in her arms.

“Thank you, Kara.”

Kara didn’t think there was a word to describe the overwhelming depth and warmth in her heart, so she held Lena closer and hoped her friend would feel it through their embrace. Her friend… the thought made her features tense. Lena’s words rose in her mind: _“I’ve never had family like you.”_ Kara realized the word for what she felt and swallowed hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Next chapter in a few days. In the meantime, feel free to comment :)


	3. Chapter 3

“Oh, now that’s deeply disappointing.”

“What?” Daisy looked up from the t-shirt rack in the thrift store and found Bobbi holding an ‘Ask Me About My Feminist Agenda’ tee.

“Someone donated this!” Bobbi hissed. “Why? Did they give up?”

Daisy smirked. “Maybe they wanted someone like you to have it.”

The taller agent huffed. “Well, it’s mine now, and they can pry it from my cold, dead hands.” She added it to their shopping cart.

Daisy chuckled and flipped through a few more shirts. “Huh, so that’s who that was.”

Bobbi glanced over. “Who?” Daisy held up a graphic tee with the image of the costumed blonde and the word ‘Supergirl’ underneath. Bobbi rolled her eyes. “Wow, this must be the most literal universe of them all. Supergirl, Metropolis – if they have an equivalent of SHIELD, it’s probably called the Unusual Activities Agency.”

“There’s no place like home,” Daisy agreed. She put the Supergirl shirt back and moved on.

They left the thrift store with two changes of clothes and backpacks to carry everything. The cashier accepted their bills, but a vending machine on the street corner didn’t, which left them feeling guilty. “Prices seem about the same in this universe, so we have enough cash left to eat for three days,” Daisy summed up afterwards. ~~~~

“Three?” Bobbi sounded surprised and impressed.

“Believe me, I’ve done worse.”

“We have to be in shape to apprehend an Inhuman Hydra agent at the end,” Bobbi reminded her.

Daisy nodded. “That’s why it’s only three.” 

“Good, then. Let’s get back on his trail.”

* * *

“We have three fugitives from another universe in our city, at least one of whom has dangerous powers. We need to take them into DEO custody.” J’onn looked around at his agents. “I’m open to suggestions.”

Several were floated, but Kara didn’t hear them. Her thoughts were on the dark-haired woman. She’d engaged with Kara, even if only to say why she wouldn’t cooperate. Of all the information they had, that was the only piece that felt like a starting point. Sure, if they located her, she could go punch the woman and drag her to the DEO by the collar, but what would be the point? Her place wasn’t in a cell; it was in her home universe.

“Kara?” Alex was looking at her. “Got an idea?”

“I’m not sure how to find her,” Kara began, “but what I want to do is go talk to her – the powered woman, I mean. If her problem with me was that I was in her way, then I’m not, now. I want to ask her why she’s here and what will satisfy her to leave. We may want to help her.”

“She collapsed a hallway on you in your best friend’s building,” Alex objected.

“She all but said that she didn’t want to. She didn’t have to say anything, Alex, but she did. She’s reasonable. I want to reach out to her.”

“We can try it,” J’onn assented, “but Alex will be waiting in the wings with a tactical team in case it goes off the rails.”

To their surprise, Alex shook her head. “Sir, there’d be no point. The woman would blow our shots back at us and leap away. We’d only be a liability.”

J’onn sighed. “Alright, then, Kara. We’re doing it your way. This still requires that we find them, though. Agent Schott, is there any sort of alternate universe signature we can track?”

Winn shook his head. “There’s a signature, but it’s too faint to track. You’d have to hold a detector right next to them to pick it up.”

“Dammit, we need someth-”

“Wait.” Kara thought back. “I heard something just before she used her powers, like she started vibrating before she sent out waves. I can listen for that.”

“That’s a start, but it’s a slim hope,” J’onn said. “If she’s smart, she won’t use her powers.”

“She might, though. I know that life is full of little temptations to use mine. Heating coffee with my eyes, taking things out of the oven without mitts – I’m sure there’s an equivalent for her. She’ll use her powers, and I’ll find her.”

* * *

Rule number one of operating in an alien environment was to stick together. Breaking and entering, however, had to be an exception. Seated with her back to a wall, Daisy kept watch in an alley while Bobbi searched the building the Hydra agent had taken refuge in. They’d waited all night and into the morning for him to go out, waited a little longer to see him enter the grocery store down the street, and then Bobbi went in to look for clues to his next moves. For Daisy, sitting alone in the alley, among overflowing garbage cans and under the hot sun, it was like old times. She sighed. An alternate universe. Did that mean there was a Daisy Johnson out there who grew up with two healthy birth parents? A mother and father with their hearts intact? Just how different was it here? It looked the same, smelled the same… did it feel the same? When she’d used her power yesterday, she hadn’t attention to spare for listening to the ambient vibrations of the world. Now, she closed her eyes and felt with her mind. Sensing the brick at her back and the dirty cobblestones beneath her feet, she focused on them. Their tune felt… different, but the same, like another musical key. She passed the time making the dust dance in patterns on the alley pavement, learning the subtle undertones of this new universe, until a new and distinct vibration entered her awareness. She opened her eyes, looked, and spoke the first thought that entered her mind.

* * *

“You seriously wear capes in this universe?”

Kara paused a few feet above the ground. She’d been about to land and walk to the young woman, but the comment put her off. That was no way to start a conversation – but, if she were in the other’s shoes, she might be on edge, too. She smiled her most disarming smile, set herself on the ground, and approached calmly. “Just a few of us. Is everyone in your universe this friendly?”

The woman shot her a tired, sarcastic look. “Don’t. I could pulverize your bones from the inside out.”

Kara raised an eyebrow. “My bones might surprise you.”

At that, the woman lifted her fingers and closed her eyes for a moment, then tilted her head. “Actually, they do. You’re not a standard-issue human.”

Kara stopped, surprised. “No,” she admitted, “I’m not a human. I’m from a planet called Krypton.”

“Hooray alien superpowers.”

Stepping into a conversational distance, Kara asked, “Do aliens have something to do with yours?”

With a sarcastic huff, the woman answered, “I have leftover DNA from ancient alien experiments to turn humans into bioengineered weapons. It got activated and…” she stretched out her fingers and a pulse of wind fluttered Kara’s cape. “Not gonna lie, the power is awesome, but so much baggage came with it.”

Kara nodded. “With great power comes…” she trailed off, unsure what she wanted to say.

“A ton of weird crap that you’re not prepared to deal with.”

“Yeah. I definitely went through that.” Kara moved a box aside and sat next to the woman. “I have my powers because of Earth’s sun, so there was a steep learning curve after I came here. I was afraid to even pet a cat, at first.” She smiled again. “This Earth is my home now, and I use what I have to protect its people. I’m Supergirl. Who are you?”

* * *

“People call me ‘Quake’.”

The blonde’s reply was gentle. “That’s not what I asked.”

“It’s what you offered,” Daisy countered. “A name for a name, Supergirl.”

This time, Supergirl was firm. “That’s not how this is gonna work. I have a reason in this universe to withhold my name. You are in my home, and we haven’t even talked about your intentions yet. Please, what’s your name?”

Daisy met her eyes. “Skye.”

The blonde’s smile seemed to know more than was said. “Pleased to meet you, Skye. I regret the way we met yesterday. My sister thinks I should’ve smacked you all down immediately and hauled you in, rather than continuing to reach out, but I had to try. I don’t begrudge you fighting back, either.”

Daisy flicked her eyebrows and tilted her head. “Appreciated. Does your sister wear a cape, too?”

Supergirl grinned. “No, she wears all black tactical gear. You saw her yesterday. I should say she’s my adoptive sister. She’s an Earthling.”

Daisy swallowed; the mention of adoption brought up unwelcome emotions. “I’m glad that worked out for you.”

At that, the blonde’s expression softened, which prompted Daisy to call up her defenses. She was not getting into this with some random, alternate universe alien. Again, though, Supergirl seemed to sense what was happening; she smiled and changed the subject. “Back home, what do you do?”

“I’m… I work for a secretive – I believe the word is ‘clandestine’ – government agency. Of the United States,” Daisy clarified. “We’re called ‘SHIELD’. The acronym is the most forced thing I’ve ever seen, but the word is the point. We’re supposed to be a shield against threats the other agencies and military aren’t suited to.”

A smile grew on Supergirl’s face. “That sounds familiar. I’m with a secret agency called the Department of Extranormal Operations. We protect against alien and metahuman threats.”

“Same idea, yeah.” Daisy smirked. “’Extranormal’, I like that. Sums it up pretty well.”

Supergirl nodded, then grinned and shook her head. “Gosh, that’s so cool, though. I would love to wake up every day thinking, ‘Yeah, I work for _SHIELD’.”_

Daisy rolled her eyes. “You’re a dork.”

The blonde’s cheeks went pink. “I get that a lot.”

Daisy chuckled. “And this secret agency lets you go around in that outfit?”

“What?” Supergirl bristled. “I like it.”

“No, no, the outfit is fine. It’s just not very covert, you know?”

“I don’t want to be covert. I want to stand for something.”

Daisy appraised the woman. “I guess if you’re going for ‘iconic’, you’re dressed appropriately. ‘S’ for ‘super’ front and center-”

Supergirl shook her head. “It’s not an ‘S’. It’s the crest of my Kryptonian family, the House of El.”

“Ah.” Daisy nodded, only half-understanding. “Convenient, though.”

“I suppose it’s how I got my name.” Supergirl smiled again. “Skye, I came looking for you because I have a suggestion. If you and your partner come with me to the DEO, we promise we’ll get you home. If you justify to us why we should help you catch the other guy from your universe, we’ll do that, too, and you can take him with you.”

For a moment, Daisy just stared. “You’re serious?”

“Mhmm.”

“You have literally no idea who I am or even whether sending me back is in my universe’s best interest.”

The blonde shook her head. “Skye, I know I’ve known you for all of five minutes, but I’m a pretty good judge of character. You’re someone your universe will want back.”

Daisy raised her eyebrows and looked away. “That might be the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”

Supergirl laughed. “Aww, Skye – oh, that’s another idea. We could let you phone home and tell your friends that you’re okay.”

“Let’s do that. They’re probably freaking out.”

“We’ll get you a portal.” She smiled. “See? Isn’t this better than losing another fight?”

Daisy smirked. “I wouldn’t know. All I remember is you smashing into walls.”

The blonde laughed again. “Come on. In the lab, one-on-one, you know I would’ve had you.”

“I’ll admit it when you’ve done it, blondie.”

A few minutes later, when Bobbi came back outside, Supergirl stayed seated until she was close. “Bobbi, right?” She stood, offering a smile and a hand, which the agent accepted. “Skye and I,” she seemed to lean on Daisy’s false name, “were discussing the situation. I think we might be stronger together.” She described what she’d proposed.

“There are conditions, I’m sure,” Bobbi said.

Supergirl nodded, looking apologetic. “We’ll be in charge of catching the man, not you. You’ll check all of your equipment with us before you enter our headquarters and stay inside unless we need you. When we’ve got the guy, we’re sending you all home right away.” She shrugged. “Honestly, just remember that you’re guests in our home.”

“There are certain things I won’t hand over,” Bobbi said. Daisy was impressed to hear Supergirl’s apologetic tone mirrored in her fellow agent’s voice.

Supergirl held her eyes for a moment. “Could you do harm with them?”

“Yes.”

“Will you?”

Daisy gawked at her. Was the girl just going to take Bobbi’s word? But she got another surprise; Bobbi answered, “If it’s necessary to complete our mission, yes.”

Supergirl’s expression grew softer, not harder. “Thank you for your honesty, Bobbi. We’ll work something out. Please stay here while I call in.”

* * *

_“There’s a hang-up. Bobbi, the tall one without powers, won’t hand over all of her possessions. She’s being completely transparent about it, even admitting that she could and would use these things against the DEO if she thought she needed to.”_

“And you trust her,” Alex said, knowing from long experience where Kara was leading.

Next to her, J’onn shook his head. “I’m not bending the most basic security rules, Kara. There’s no way I’m letting a trained agent bring whatever she wants into the DEO. Are you leading up to some other suggestion?”

They heard Kara swallow. _“Alex, could she stay with you?”_

“No.” J’onn’s voice was hard and final.

Alex, however, knew her sister had her own ideas about the meaning of ‘final’. _“It’s the only alternative I can think of to taking her by force and holding her prisoner,”_  Kara said _. “That makes it worth trying.”_

“You’d put your sister’s life at risk?”

_“No, I wouldn’t. Will you at least talk to her?”_

J’onn shared a look with Alex, then took out his earpiece. “Sometimes I wonder who’s running the DEO.”

“She’s right that we should avoid arresting her,” Alex conceded. “We may need their cooperation in catching the other guy.”

“Agent Danvers, she's a trained agent and a complete stranger. Are you seriously considering babysitting her?”

Alex weighed the options. “I’m willing to meet her and assess the risk.”

* * *

With Vasquez and others keeping watch on the building where the third fugitive was last seen, Alex met Kara, Bobbi, and Skye in another alley, several blocks away. “We’ll leave you alone for a moment,” Kara said, and led Skye away.

The tall blonde watched them go, then turned her attention to Alex. “You should know that my partner will be able to hear us.”

“So will mine.” Alex took a moment to inspect the woman’s expression, then spoke again. “She says that taking you into my custody and sharing my apartment with you won’t put me at risk. Convince me that she’s right.”

“I can’t.” The woman was frank. “You won’t trust anything I say.”

Alex eyed her. “You certainly know how to strip away empty words.”

The woman said nothing.

“Alright,” Alex said drily, “I asked for that. What’s your mission in this universe?”

“There’s no point in questions.”

Alex frowned. “Then why agree to talk to me at all?” She received no response. “You’re a professional on a mission, so you wouldn’t agree to waste time that’s better spent on apprehending your man. That means you expect a result from this one-sided conversation.” She’d never seen someone hold their expression as still as this woman did. Her face gave away nothing. “You have to assume that we didn’t find you by accident,” Alex continued, considering the facts she had. “You know what gear you’re carrying and whether any of it emits a signature we might be able to track. If it’s any good, it doesn’t, so the loudest signal source you have is Skye, which means we must be able to detect her. Supergirl said the man you’re chasing turned into a ghost when she got in the way of Skye’s power. That means you need her power to complete your mission, so you can’t hide from us. The conflict at L-Corp proved that you can’t outrun or outfight Supergirl while you’re also trying to catch your man. If you can’t run, hide, or fight, then your only shot is to cooperate with us.” Alex felt a smile coming. “I don’t need to trust you, because you won’t do anything counterproductive to your mission. Alright, I’ll take you on.”

The tall blonde smiled back. “SHIELD Agent Barbara Morse. Call me ‘Bobbi’.”

“Alex Danvers, DEO.”

“We don’t have that acronym back home. Department of…?”

“Extranormal Operations,” Alex explained.

Bobbi smirked. “Called it.”

Alex narrowed her eyes. “What?”

“Oh. Skye and I noticed the propensity for literal names in this universe – a city named ‘Metropolis’, ‘Supergirl’ – and I guessed that instead of SHIELD, you’d have an Unusual Activities Agency.”

Alex quirked an eyebrow. “Literal, are we? Is ‘SHIELD’ an acronym?”

 _“Bus-ted.”_ They both looked up to see Skye returning with Supergirl.

“Thanks, Skye,” Bobbi said sarcastically.

“Tell her,” Skye prompted, grinning.

Bobbi sighed and met Alex’s eyes. “Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division.”

Alex’s jaw dropped, and she broke down laughing. “That is the worst… it doesn’t even make sense,” she said, rubbing her face. “It should be an agency with a division for each of those tasks.”

“I know,” Bobbi muttered.

“What does strategic homeland intervention even entail?” Her mirth faded. “Please tell me you have to get warrants to operate within the U.S.”

“We do,” Bobbi muttered again.

“Sorry. I don’t mean to mock the work you do – I know a devoted agent when I see one – it’s just the name…” Alex giggled one more time and took a breath. “I promise I’m done.”

“Thanks.” Bobbi glared at her fellow SHIELD agent. “You’d better have enjoyed that. I wouldn’t want to be humiliated for nothing.”

Skye was grinning from ear to ear. “Oh, don’t worry, I did.”

Kara spoke up. “So, Bobbi, you’re staying with Alex?” The agents confirmed it. “Alright, I’ll give J’onn the good news.”

She got a surprise in reply: _“I’ve been thinking. If we’re trusting one of these women, we might as well trust both. I’d feel better if they didn’t see the inside of the DEO. Let the powered woman stay at your apartment.”_

“Oh. Alright, then.” She turned to Skye. “Turns out you’re coming to my place instead of the DEO. In which case, my name’s Kara.”

Skye smiled. “Mine’s Daisy, Kara.”

Just before they left for their respective apartments, Kara caught Bobbi’s sleeve. “One thing,” she said quietly. “I don’t want to say this, but Alex is my sister, so I have to. If you hurt her, you will never see your universe again.”

Bobbi responded with comic disbelief. “Supergirl, I would never break her heart.”

Kara tinged pink and looked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who's kept reading. I hope you're enjoying! Don't forget to leave your thoughts :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said this was set around the end of SG season 2, but I’ve also decided to set this post-Sanvers, so I guess it’s a mash-up of a divergent end of season 2 and beginning of season 3. Just go with it.
> 
> In other news, hi! It’s been like three weeks, I know. Those first chapters came so easily, but writing a plot is hard. I’ve got some cool ideas, but setting those moments within a complete narrative can be a drag (maybe that’s my ADD talking). Also, it’s taking me a while to find chemistry for Alex and Bobbi. I’m getting it, though!

“You are so freaking normal.” Daisy regretted the words as soon as she said them. “Sorry, I know you’re an alien superhero, it’s just…” She gestured at the interior of Kara’s apartment, which she’d just stepped into. “You have a normal human apartment. Like, chairs, windows with curtains, pictures clothespinned over your desk – I keep expecting computer screens to pop out of a wall or something. Do you keep your suit on a mannequin in a secret display case?”

Kara frowned. “No, I keep it in my bottom dresser drawer.”

Daisy rubbed her forehead. “Sorry. I guess I can’t shake the idea of a superhero living in a cave full of tech.”

“What’s a superhero?”

“Oh, maybe you don’t have that word in this universe. A superhero is someone who has superhuman powers and uses them to… fight crime or evil aliens or whatever. They have some signature look and a catchy name.”

Kara pursed her lips. “Like ‘Supergirl’.”

Daisy nodded. “Yeah. In our universe, we have Iron Man, Captain America, Captain Marvel… a lot of them, actually.”

“And they don’t have apartments and jobs, you’re saying?”

Daisy’s eyes widened in surprise. “You have a job?”

“I’m a reporter,” Kara shrugged. “Gotta pay the bills somehow.”

“So. Freaking. Normal,” Daisy said, emphasizing each word with her hands.

Kara looked closely at her. “But your life hasn’t been.”

Daisy clammed up and looked away.

“Make yourself at home,” Kara said instead, moving again to help change the subject. “We’re getting you an air mattress to sleep on. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen.”

“Now that you mention it…” Daisy opened the fridge. “Whoa!” It was packed with food.

“I have to eat a lot,” Kara explained.

Glancing back, Daisy looked up and down Kara’s figure. “Where’s it all go?”

“Into my powers.”

Daisy shook her head and returned her attention to the fridge.

* * *

“So… this is my apartment,” Alex said. To Bobbi’s ears, she sounded less than at home.

“Stylish,” the SHIELD agent observed.

Alex grunted. “Thanks. It came fully furnished.” She looked around her living room and let out a breath. “Look, Agent Morse, I’m not concerned for my safety, but I don’t really know what to do with you.”

“Fair enough.” Bobbi stepped to the kitchen island, pulled out a stool, and perched facing Alex. “How about we start with the basics? In your home, am I ‘Agent Morse’ or ‘Bobbi’?”

Alex shrugged and looked past her shoulder. “Kara called you ‘Bobbi’, so…”

“I’m not staying with Kara,” Bobbi noted politely. “What’s going to be comfortable for you?”

“’Bobbi’,” Alex decided. “If we stay formal, I won’t be able to relax in here.”

Bobbi nodded. “Alright, Alex. That’s progress. How do you want me to behave? Any ground rules?”

“Honestly…” Alex shrugged again and spread her hands. “Just make yourself at home. Don’t ask me permission for things; it’d just get weird. Help yourself to the kitchen – oh, drinks are in that cabinet,” she pointed to one of those high on the kitchen wall, “just put whatever bottles back up there before you walk away.”

Bobbi looked at the high cabinet, then at Alex’s modest height, and nodded. “Totally understand.”

Alex sighed. “Yeah.”

It was a weary sigh which seemed to carry burdens far too heavy to share with someone she’d just met, and Bobbi felt a need to avert her eyes. In doing so, she noticed something else; there were no personal touches in the apartment. For all its modern furniture and eye-catching light fixtures, it might as well be a hotel room.

In her time with SHIELD, Bobbi had met plenty of lonely spies, agents, and scientists. Perhaps this universe wasn’t much different at all.

* * *

With the decision to keep the alternate universe aliens out of the DEO headquarters, the team needed another location to hold briefings. Inevitably, Kara’s apartment was chosen. Now, the four women, J’onn, and Winn gathered around Kara’s dinner table. A holographic projector and a secure wireless link allowed them the use of the DEO’s computing resources.

“We’ll start with the man you pursued to L-Corp,” J’onn said. “He returned from the store to the apartment building you were watching, and he’s remained inside. We have agents in place to follow him if he goes out again.”

“Good. Thank you,” Bobbi added.

“The big question on our minds,” J’onn said, “is was it only the one man in the other car?”

Bobbi nodded, looking grim. “Yes. Do you have an organization named Hydra in this universe?”

The natives looked at each other. “Not that I’ve ever heard of,” J’onn answered for them.

“That’s either very good or very bad. Did you have a mass-murderer named Adolf Hitler?”

“Yes.”

“In our universe,” Bobbi explained, “Hydra is a nefarious organization that survived the fall of Hitler’s Germany. The man driving that car was a metahuman Hydra agent. Our mission was to tail and apprehend him. He tried to use a portal to your universe to escape us.”

“Let me just parse that,” Winn interjected. “There’s a superpowered Nazi on the loose?”

“Without getting into the details of how Hydra has evolved, yeah, pretty much.”

“Why were you pursuing him in your universe? Beyond just his affiliation,” J’onn clarified.

“He-”

There was a knock on the door.

They all looked at each other, and then at Kara, who looked through the door. “Lena…?” She went to the door and opened it for her. “Lena? What's up?”

Lena bit her lip, looking uncomfortable. “I hope I’m not imposing. I know I should’ve called, but I was passing by and-” The woman’s eyes, which lacked their usual light, glanced past Kara. “I’m sorry, do you have guests?”

“Um…”

“I’m sorry, I should’ve called. We can talk later.” She turned, but Kara reached and caught her hand.

“Lena, my door is always open to you. Please, come in.”

Lena made it only two steps inside the apartment before stopping again and staring at the assembled faces. “I-” Her eyes narrowed at Daisy. “You’re the one who trashed my laboratories.” The newly-arrived brunette turned to Kara. “Explain this to me.”

Kara stuttered, fidgeted, and forced a smile. “Uh, um, Lena, meet… Daisy Johnson, from another universe. Daisy, meet Lena Luthor, CEO of L-Corp.”

Lena Luthor aimed her eyes at Daisy and folded her arms. “Are you subordinate to a government agency in your universe, like these people are?”

“Yes.”

Her eyes flashed. “Good. Your agency is going to reimburse L-Corp for the damage you did; three million, three hundred and twenty-six thousand, seven hundred and fifty-eight dollars and sixty-two cents, payable in gold, at our universe’s exchange rate.”

Daisy swallowed; those green eyes were hard to meet. “I-I’m sorry, ma’am.”

Kara intervened. “Daisy and Bobbi,” she gestured at the other SHIELD agent, “were just explaining to us how vital it is that they apprehend the man they were pursuing.”

“You say that as if you’re including me in whatever is going on here,” Lena observed.

“You are the portal expert. Let me get you a chair.”

“Kara,” J’onn said darkly.

Kara stared him down. “What does she not already know? She recognized Daisy, presumably from L-Corp’s security cameras, and you told her yesterday that the intruders were from another universe.”

“I also know,” Lena added, “about your Department of Extranormal Operations-”

Alex’s eyes bugged at Kara. “You told her?!”

“No,” Lena waved a hand, “I ferreted that out last night. Kara, really,” she said, turning to her friend, “there’s a coffee shop around the corner. Call me when your meeting is over.”

“This is my home,” Kara said with finality, “and you are Lena Luthor. You are always welcome here.” Lena’s lips parted soundlessly. Kara moved up a chair and asked, “Does L-Corp have portal technology at any other sites?”

Lena glanced at the chair, the group, her friend, and then at the group again. “We have a remote test facility where we’re scaling up the technology.”

J’onn raised his eyebrows. “Scaling up?”

“Sized to drive a truck through. Our goal is the capability to deliver an ISO standard shipping container anywhere in the world.”

“That’s incredible! I…” Kara realized she was alone in her enthusiasm and cleared her throat. “If the Hydra agent knew he’d find a portal in L-Corp’s headquarters,” she said to the group, “we should assume he also knows about this other location – which means Lena should be part of this.”

Lena took her seat. “Put that way, I have to agree.”

There was a silence, which Kara broke. “Agent Morse, what more do you have to share about the Hydra agent?”

Bobbi cleared her throat. “He’s carrying documents which contain a complete accounting of Hydra’s high-level finances. With that information, we could set their plans back by a decade.”

“That… sounds like a good thing to do,” Winn said.

Alex looked to J’onn. “Agent Morse,” the director said, “I’ll need you to write up a memorandum detailing why Hydra deserves our opposition before I can make it official, but let’s plan on working together.”

“Thank you, sir.” Bobbi looked between Lena and J’onn. “Am I correct that, so far as you know, this other L-Corp site has the only other portal generator in the region?”

They nodded. “So far as I know,” Lena said, “it’s the only other one on the planet.”

“How difficult would it be for someone to use this large-scale transmat portal without authorization?”

Lena scoffed. “They wouldn’t have prayer. We based our controls on nuclear missile launch systems. It can’t be done.” Kara, Alex, and J’onn exchanged looks. “No,” Lena said, “not on the Hollywood version of a missile silo, but the real thing. To initiate a transmatter portal, four people, in two separate, sealed rooms, each have to turn two keys, all at the same time. The locks aren’t simple on-off switches, but send coded signals to the portal generator, so a person can’t just hotwire it. The codes are regenerated after a key is turned, so you can’t record the signals and play them back. The keys are kept in a safe that requires three combinations to unlock. The combinations are known by three different people. Unless we have a test planned, no more than two of those people are on-site at a time.”

Kara’s eyes were wide. “Wow.”

“It’s meant to be mom-proof,” Lena explained drily.

“Can it be bypassed?” Daisy asked. “Could a person hack the electronics that receive the signals from the keys?”

“No. Those electronics are designed into the portal generator structure such that you have to break other critical components in order to get to them. I’m not a fool with technology. It is impossible to use that portal without authorization.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” J’onn said. “What about the one in the lab?”

Lena frowned. “It’s disassembled while we rethink our security. It required a key and a thirty-two character password, both of which your man had copies of. I find that deeply disturbing, and I have my best people investigating the leak.”

“That he had them implies a connection between persons in this universe and yours,” Alex said to the SHIELD agents.

“Which brings me to a conclusion you might not like.” J’onn looked at the pair. "We could simply go out tonight and arrest this guy, but I need to learn everything I can about any connections he has here. I intend to observe him for as long as possible.”

“So long as both portals are inaccessible,” Bobbi said, “we can go along with that.”

“Then what we plan to do is continue our surveillance and keep the two of you ready to respond to any developments. Now, what do my agents need to know about this man’s powers?”

Bobbi explained his ghost ability, the effect of Daisy’s powers on him, and the specialized handcuffs they’d brought for him. They discussed the best ways to organize and employ Daisy and Kara when the time came to make the arrest. When it seemed they’d covered all the possibilities, Bobbi said, “Something that would need permission from both of you,” looking at J’onn and Lena, “is calling home. It would relieve our fellow agents to know that we’re alive.”

“It would also stop them from trying to come and rescue us,” Daisy added.

J’onn considered. “I have no objections. Do you, Agent Danvers?”

“No, sir.”

“That leaves it to you, Ms. Luthor.”

Lena assented. “There’s something I’d like from the DEO first. I want your security officers to conduct polygraph interviews with every one of my employees who had access to our portal lab. I imagine that our visitors,” she inclined her head at the SHIELD agents, “would prefer that we find the leaker before they use my portal.”

“Good thinking,” Bobbi said.

“We can have a team at L-Corp in the morning,” J’onn told Lena.

“Thank you.”

“If that’s all, Agent Schott and I will head back to the DEO now. The rest of you shouldn’t all leave at once,” J’onn advised.

As they stood, Bobbi moved towards Lena. “Miss Luthor? I was hoping to talk to you.”

Lena quirked an eyebrow at the tall blonde. “Me?”

“Yesterday at your building, it took discipline not to ogle your biotech labs. I have an advanced degree in biochemistry that I hardly get to use anymore.”

“’Get’ to?” Lena cocked her head. “I would think that a woman has to choose every day to be a secret agent.”

Bobbi allowed it. “Yes, I just wish I had more opportunities to indulge that side of myself.”

“You have a bio background?” Alex joined their conversation.

“I do. I studied biochem before the SHIELD Academy rotated us through the different directorates and I got hooked on Operations. But Ms. Luthor – can I call you Lena? – there was one lab I looked into, C-05, where…”

Kara went to her kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. She looked at Lena, at Bobbi and Alex, and looked away. Whatever had been on Lena’s mind that brought her here had apparently faded into the background, because Lena was smiling and geeking out with the two agents, although Alex was mostly just listening. Whatever they were talking about was way over Kara’s head. It was good, though, that Lena was happy. She hadn’t looked happy when she’d arrived. Happiness was good. Lena deserved it.

“Does she know how you feel?”

Kara twitched and looked at Daisy, who’d sidled next to her. “What?”

Daisy gave her a patronizing smile. “Come on. It’s all over your face.”

“What is?”

The dark-haired woman hung her head back and looked up at the ceiling. “Oh my god, Supergirl. You keep looking at them like you’re dying.”

Kara had nothing to say to that.

“You’re jealous and it hurts to watch,” Daisy continued gently. “Does she know how you feel?”

Biting her lip, Kara decided to confide in Daisy. She’d be back in her parallel universe soon, after all. “I don’t know. I mean, I know we go well together and she likes my company…”

“But something about the way they’re interacting makes you feel left behind?”

“They’re…” Kara sighed. “I’m not _technical._ I’m not a scientist. I learned plenty of science growing up on Krypton, way more than humans do by that age, but it was still all surface-level. There was just more of it. I can’t engage with that side of her the way Bobbi is right now. I feel… like I’m suddenly not as close to her as I thought I was.”

Daisy paused for a moment. “Has she tried to share her technical side with you?”

“Yes. We were actually…” A smile peeked through the cloud over Kara’s heart. “When you crashed L-Corp, she was giving me a tour of the labs. She was, just, glowing...” she said, remembering.

“Even though you weren’t diving into the technical side with her?” Kara nodded. “Did that seem to disappoint her at all?”

“No. It’s not that, though. It’s that, watching her with Bobbi, I’m seeing a way of making her happy that I’ll never be able to do.”

Daisy’s hand squeezed her shoulder. “That sounds hard to see,” she sympathized, “but doesn’t she get that already from her work?”

Kara tilted her head and met Daisy’s eyes. “What do you mean?”

“I just think that, if I were her, I’d want someone who made me happy in ways besides that. Isn’t your universe full of couples from different professions?”

“True.”

“She shouldn’t need a lover to be everything for her in every way, just the right things in the right ways. Listen, Supergirl, does she smile like that,” Daisy nodded at the expression Lena held for Bobbi, “for you?”

Kara closed her eyes for a moment. Lena’s smile came to her eyes, and her own came with it. “She does.”

“Then there’s a way you can make her happy that Bobbi will never be able to do.” Kara looked at Daisy expectantly. “Be here for her. Admire her as she does her geek thing and be here for her after she’s done.”

Kara smiled. “I can do that. Thank you.”

* * *

When the biotech conversation came to an end, and Alex drew Bobbi towards the door, Kara caught Lena’s eye and led her into her bedroom. “Daisy’s staying with me,” she explained as she closed the door, “and I thought you might want some privacy. What’s going on, Lena? You didn’t seem okay when you got here.”

Lena made a wry face. “I was on my way home and felt a sudden and crushing weight of loneliness.”

Kara took her friend’s hands. “Lena.”

“So, thank you for insisting I stay,” the woman said, now looking sincere. “That meant a great deal to me.”

“Always, Lena. Anything. Whenever.” Kara realized that she was still holding Lena’s hands and decided that sitting together would be better. She let go and settled on the edge of her bed, and Lena followed suit. “Was there something that prompted those feelings?”

“Lillian called.”

Kara’s eyes widened. “She called?”

“Completely out of the blue. It was surprising; she’s always come to me in person before. She talked like it was nothing out of the ordinary, but of course she would.”

Kara saw tension behind Lena’s usual expressiveness. “What did she want?”

“She said she had a business proposition. She wants me to meet her in front of my apartment building at midnight. Obviously, I’m struck by the timing. A man from another universe has the key to a portal in my building, and when his plan falls apart, my mother calls? Coincidences happen, but I find this one suspicious.”

Kara had no argument. “Do you want to bring in the DEO?”

“I had a lot of time to think about that. I want her in jail, but I don’t want her to think I helped put her there. If we arrest her through me again, and if she breaks out again, then she won’t come to me with her next scheme, so we won’t know what she’s up to. That would be bad. As twisted as this all is, I think I need to maintain that semblance of a relationship in her mind.”

“So, no?”

“No,” Lena confirmed.

“Okay. Do you want me to be nearby?”

Lena pursed her lips. “I’m of two minds about it. One is that, yes, given what happened the last time she wanted my ‘help’, I would very much like to have you nearby, listening and ready. The other is that I don’t want to make her wonder how you knew I needed you. If she gets the idea that Supergirl is someone I’m close to, very bad things could happen.”

“Mmm.” Kara furrowed her brow. “Maybe… what if you told her that you called me and told me you were meeting her, and that if you don’t call me in ten minutes, I’m going to call the police? It wouldn’t be a surprise if Supergirl showed up a few minutes after that.”

“I like that plan.”

“Alright, I’ll be there.” At that, Lena nodded and stood, but Kara rose and caught her sleeve. “Lena, the crushing loneliness. We need to talk about that.”

Lena expelled a frustrated breath and looked out Kara’s window. “I used to have a family. Now I don’t, even though two out of my three family members are still here. My father passed away, but Lex and Lillian…”

Kara stepped into Lena’s side and held her with an arm around her shoulders. “I’ll be your family,” she said softly. Lena made a small nod, closed her eyes, and leaned her head against Kara, who wondered if she’d said too little or too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter dives into Alex/Bobbi, I promise. Do leave your comments, they make my day :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup. Back :)

“So, how’s feminism doing in your universe?”

“Hmm?”

Alex gestured at Bobbi’s shirt. “I’m asking about your feminist agenda.”

“Oh, right. It’s alive and fighting,” the SHIELD agent said, “but there’s still a long way to go. Intersectionality is an uphill battle against millennia of thought patterns.”

“Sounds about the same as here.” Entering her apartment with Bobbi for the second time, Alex felt comfortable. The conversation with Lena and the two of them seemed to have broken the ice. That itself was surprising, since Alex wouldn’t have said she trusted the Luthor, either – but the ‘ice’ was all in her head, anyway. No matter how and why, she felt at ease now, which allowed her to indulge her curiosity. “If you don’t mind me asking an operational question,” she began, settling into her couch, “do you not carry a gun? I didn’t see one in the security footage from L-Corp…” Alex’s focus wandered at the sight of Bobbi’s long form gracefully finding repose in the couch’s other corner.

Bobbi showed a hint of a knowing smile as she nodded. “I can answer that. Daisy and I came here with icers in belt holsters, but we dumped them down a storm drain when we realized we were in another universe. Wearing them would’ve drawn attention to us.”

“Makes sense, but we should get them back tomorrow. Can you tell me what an icer is?”

“It’s a pistol that fires tranquilizer rounds, basically. Puts the target on ice.”

“How fast does the drug work?”

“Pretty much immediately.”

Alex shook her head. “What I wouldn’t give for something like that. We carry standard five-five-six and nine millimeter weapons, but that seems more and more like a triumph of hope over experience. Pretty much every threat we face is bullet-resistant.” She smirked at the taller woman. “You’re the first thing I’ve met this year that I could actually shoot.”

Bobbi smirked back. “Actually, my combat suit is bulletproof.”

Alex thought it was quite a nice smirk, one that suggested her normally serious face was making a special exception. “Against high-velocity rifle bullets?”

The smirk widened. “No comment.”

Alex chuckled. “Didn’t think so.” She looked at Bobbi for a moment and made a decision. Rising and walking to the kitchen, she moved a stool in front of the high cabinet containing her liquor. Stepping up on the braces between the stool’s legs, she reached the cabinet and pulled out a bottle. “How do you feel about red wine?” She called over her shoulder.

“Sign me up,” the SHIELD agent called back. “Wait, should you…?”

Alex stepped down, pulled the cork, and poured two glasses. “I’m good as long as I’m with people,” she explained as she put the bottle away. “The bottles are up there to make me think before I drink alone.” She brought the glasses to the couch, gave Bobbi one, and resumed her seat. “It occurred to me that this is an opportunity. You’re stuck here with me, you have to play nice for the sake of your mission, and you won’t stay long in this universe. You’re the perfect captive audience.”

Bobbi raised her eyebrows. “Oh, really? You want to vent?”

“Basically.”

“Do you talk to Kara about these things?”

Alex nodded, impressed that Bobbi asked. The woman was proving to be very perceptive. “Most of them. The thing with Kara is that she has the biggest heart of anyone I know, but she doesn’t always have the experience to go with it.”

“And I’m battle-hardened?”

“Yes.” Alex sighed. “It felt crushing when I brought you here and the first thing I did was warn you about me and alcohol. It was like I was saying, ‘I’m Alex Danvers. Welcome to the life I’m barely keeping together’.” She sipped from her glass. “And I know you noticed how unlived-in this place looks.”

“I can’t help thinking that Kara would’ve insisted you add some personal touches,” Bobbi admitted.

Alex snorted. “That’s a whole ‘nother psych briefing. She hasn’t been here since I first moved in, when I had the excuse that I was still unpacking. I wanted… ugh, this is terrible.” Alex sighed and gazed into the void. “I wanted this to be a place where I wasn’t Kara’s sister. I thought that what I needed was a little oasis from my life as the older sibling. Apparently…” she waved a hand at the walls, “it turns out I don’t actually have a life outside of that.”

“My guess was that you didn’t have a life outside of the DEO. For how long has your work overlapped with being Kara’s sister?”

“I wouldn’t have been recruited if I wasn’t Kara’s sister, so you could say it always has.”

Bobbi tilted her head. “Would you be right if you did say that?”

Alex frowned at her wine, sipped, and frowned some more. “My work didn’t cross Kara’s path for my first two years with the DEO. When she decided to use her powers and become Supergirl – look, I like working with her. I love working with her. My relationship with her is better than it’s ever been. I wouldn’t change any of that. I just…” She curled and uncurled the fingers of her free hand, as though grasping at something ephemeral.

“You feel like you’re missing something in your life?” Bobbi took a drink while Alex nodded. “This is really good wine, by the way.”

Alex’s mouth twitched. “Kara gave me the bottle when my ex-fiancée and I got engaged.”

Bobbi’s lips parted, but sound was slow to come out. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Alex stared at the few sips of wine left in her glass. “In a weird way, it was good that I’d already survived a ‘drown my sorrows’ phase. Without that experience, I might’ve…” She grimaced. “I met her, I fell for her, I _came out_ for her, I proposed to her… and I broke up with her.”

“What changed for you?” Bobbi asked, voice gentler than Alex had yet heard.

“I rushed it,” she said, not answering directly but continuing her tale. “I was in love and happy in a way I’d never been before, and I didn’t ask questions – maybe I was afraid to question it, because the answers might… and they did.” Alex relived that dreadful, heart-sinking moment when she’d realized that Maggie didn’t share her interest in having children. “We tried to work it out, but in the end I had to either compromise or leave her, and I couldn’t…” She sniffed. “This voice inside me keeps saying that that – that she – was my chance at happiness, and now…” Alex let the thought hang.

Bobbi titled her head, looking both sympathetic and curious. “That sounds like you don’t believe you’re ever going to be happy.”

“I thought I was content, before… her, but now… It’s like she woke up this dream of what I want, but she couldn’t be part of that dream.”

“And now, since you don’t have a life outside of work, are you afraid that you won’t find someone who wants to be?” Bobbi seemed to find an answer in Alex’s heavy silence. “Do you not meet a lot of people through your work? Within the DEO or outside?”

Alex shook her head. “That’s why Maggie felt like such a godsend. She even knew a lot of aliens already. Hell, she seemed perfect. The next most interesting woman I met was Kara’s aunt, and I killed her. That’s two people in two years, and I’m twenty-nine. How long is it going to take me, at that rate?”

“I don’t know, Alex.” Bobbi paused. “May I ask how long it took Kara to forgive you for killing her aunt?”

“I think she forgave me within moments, even as she was feeling the pain.” Alex sighed. “Kara is a freaking saint.”

Bobbi’s head angled again. “Have you thought about her?”

“Thought about her how?”

“Romantically.”

Alex’s eyes popped. “My sister?!”

“In my defense,” Bobbi pointed out, “she’s not even the same species as you.”

“I-” Alex bit off her retort and let her tension ease up. “For the sake of argument, let’s say she wasn’t my foster sister. I still… we go together great, but not that way. Not in this universe.”

“Okay. Just thought I’d ask, since nobody in this universe probably would.”

Alex huffed. “You’re excused.”

“Thank you. So, you’ve tasted your idea of happiness, and now you’re despairing lightning striking twice when it wasn’t even that close with Maggie?”

Alex tossed back the last of her wine. “Yep.”

Bobbi pursed her lips. “There’s online dating.”

“I hate the thought of hiding what I do, though. It’s one thing to flash false FBI credentials when I’m on the job, but lying to someone I’m trying to date seems like something else.”

“You may have to get over that,” Bobbi admonished. “If you want a life in the unclassified world, you need to date in it.” She paused for a moment and wet her lips. “Alex, I have met more than a few lonely spies who drink too much. I wouldn’t want to see you go that way.”

Sudden curiosity and concern intruded on Alex’s self-reflection. “Spies?”

Bobbi paused, evidently considering her words. “SHIELD performs some human intelligence functions targeting advanced non-state actors. Hydra, for example.” She took in Alex’s wary gaze. “Is your next question whether I’ve done any spying? Yes, I was in deep cover inside a Hydra cell for over a year.”

“So you’re not just tactical, like me. You’re a for-real secret agent.”

“Are you thinking that sounds cool?”

“It sounds interesting,” Alex admitted.

“That it is, but it’s not cool. That was over a year spent immersed in Hydra, aiding and abetting everything I joined SHIELD to fight, and away from my boyfriends – and then the mission was blown just as we were really getting the intelligence we wanted. I at least got to rescue another undercover agent on my way out – a cute bio genius – but I only got about thirty minutes of heart-eyes from her before we got back to headquarters, where I learned that she took the assignment to get some space from her lab partner, who confessed his love for her just before saving her life, suffering brain damage in the process, who she totally had feelings for but hadn’t grasped them yet.” Bobbi paused for breath. “So yeah, didn’t get anything I wanted out of that op.”

“And yet,” Alex said, lips quirking, “why do I get the feeling that you’d do it all again?”

Bobbi sighed but smiled. “Because I’m a sucker for saving the world.”

Alex laughed. “I’ve never heard it put that way, but I know the feeling; that moment when you look at someone and realize, ‘They’re going home tonight because I did my job today’.”

“It’s not so direct for me, since I don’t see many civilians in my missions, but yeah,” Bobbi agreed, “that.”

Alex smiled wider, shifted to face Bobbi a little more, and let her head rest against her arm on the couch back. “Do you have a secret agent codename?”

“So… look.” Bobbi set her glass down and turned to fully face Alex. “I’m your guest in your home. I don’t want to do anything that’s unwelcome, so I’m just going to tell you: I’m really enjoying getting to know you and I’m very attracted to you. If you don’t want things to go that way, we’ll go back to talking and forget I said anything.”

Alex blinked and felt her lips part. Hit on by a woman from another universe… she supposed sex would qualify as an ‘extranormal operation’. The thought made her smirk, which prompted a lifted eyebrow from Bobbi. Alex swallowed and tossed her head, trying to hide her… what, exactly? She wasn’t uncomfortable or embarrassed, more like just caught off-guard. Caught off-guard by a sharp-eyed Amazonian blonde. Who was sitting on her couch, watching her intently. Those sharp eyes… she swallowed again. “I think,” she began slowly, “we should keep talking and see where it leads.”

“Normally, I’d go with that,” Bobbi said, “but I want you to feel in control. The last thing I want is for you to think I took advantage of you – especially after everything you shared.”

That was a point. Alex considered whether a fling would be a good idea for her – more importantly, would it be a good idea for their mission? Grimly, Alex thought that if she could work with Kara despite the secret guilt of killing Astra, then she could work with Bobbi after sleeping together. That left her own well-being. There was a dilemma there: if she tried to stay emotionally uninvested, it would be difficult to enjoy, but if she let it be ‘real’, their inevitable parting would hurt. In a few days, she’d be waking up alone again. Any happiness wouldn’t last…

 _You know what? If I deserve to be happy, like Kara insists, then I’m grabbing happiness wherever I can._ Alex set her glass decisively on the end table. “If I can have a good time with you, Bobbi, then I want to. Let’s keep talking and see where this leads us.”

The SHIELD agent flashed a soft smile. “Okay. If at any point you aren’t eager to go on, are you going to say something?”

“Yes,” Alex confirmed with a nod, glad Bobbi was being so considerate.

Bobbi picked up her drink again and relaxed into the couch, a little closer than before. “I do have a codename: Mockingbird.”

Alex smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? Has a nice ring to it.”

“I like to think so.”

“Is there a reason you have that name?”

Bobbi shook her head. “No. That’s the point of a codename. It means nothing.” She pursed her lips. “The name is sort of an open secret, but I still shouldn’t have told you. Keep it to yourself, please.”

“I will,” Alex assured her. “We don’t have codenames, but we’re good at keeping secrets.”

“Good, because if the DEO were in another country in my universe, it’d be an irresistible espionage target.”

“We know. We’re fortunate that we’re small.” Alex paused. “That’s literally all I can say about that.”

“I get it.” Bobbi’s brow furrowed. “That wasn’t a regular cell phone Kara used when she called the DEO, was it?”

Alex felt almost offended. “I don’t think I need to tell you.”

“Sorry. I couldn’t help asking.” Bobbi’s lips played with a smile. “I think my inner spy is feeling a little protective of you. It’s a big world out there.”

“I’m a big girl,” Alex countered, though gently.

The smile in Bobbi’s eyes deepened. “That you are, Alex.”

It dawned on Alex that she hadn’t imagined anyone smiling at her that way since Maggie. The realization pumped more warmth into her chest and lightened her shoulders. Being liked and wanted by someone other than Maggie felt freeing. It showed that she had a future – and tonight, her future was tall, hot, and blonde. Her smile warmed as she leaned in.

* * *

At midnight, a long black sedan pulled up to the curb in front of Lena’s apartment building, and a tall woman in a black coat emerged from the back seat. Lena, who’d been waiting in her building’s foyer, went out to meet her. “Hello, dear,” the woman said.

Lena controlled the impulse to roll her eyes. “Just so we’re clear, mother, I told someone that I’m meeting you. If they don’t hear from me within ten minutes, they’re calling the police.”

Lillian Luthor aimed a patronizing smile down at her daughter. “Lena, really, is this the note you want to start on?”

“Last time I heard from you, you framed me, abducted me, and nearly got me killed by your exploding minion. If it weren’t for Supergirl, I’d be dead.” Lena settled her features into the cool expression she reserved for her mother. “With that in mind, what did you want to see me about?”

“I’m making a business deal that you will want to be in on.”

Lena itched to quip, _Are you selling your soul to a devil from another universe?_ but held her tongue on the chance that this was indeed a coincidence. “Are you dealing in something other than violence?”

“Yes, if things go smoothly – which depends greatly on you, dear. Lena, you’re a savvy businesswoman-”

“And I know when someone’s trying to make a sale. Just give me the facts.”

Lillian’s face twitched with frustration, but returned to her usual imperturbable transparent insincerity in an instant. “A little while back, I cultivated a connection with humans from a parallel universe. We came to an arrangement in which I allowed them to use this universe as a safe house in exchange for technology from theirs. I’m now in a position where they need support beyond what we agreed upon, and I plan to leverage more technical data from them in return. Much, much more.”

Folding her arms, Lena scowled. “So you’re responsible for the damage to my portal lab.”

Her mother waved her concern aside. “Not me. The agreement required them to make sure they weren’t followed before approaching L-Corp. That’s on them. Now I have a man who still needs a way home. Help me, and I’ll share all the information they provide with you.”

“And what’s this technology that’s so valuable?”

“Lena, their Earth has come in contact with a completely different collection of aliens, all with different capabilities from what we’ve seen. Now they have cloaking technology and flying aircraft carriers. They say they’ve even brought a dead man back to life.”

Lena looked dubious. “I’m not even going to dignify the latter. Why on Earth – any Earth – would you build a flying aircraft carrier?”

Lillian waved her hand. “Lena, you’re smarter than that. The point isn’t what they do with their technology, it’s what you could do. You could fill in the gaps in L-Corp’s portfolio. You could push your company so far ahead of the competition that they’d never catch you.”

With a quirked eyebrow, Lena asked, “And what’s your interest, mother? Will this technology help your alien vendetta?”

Her mother shook her head. “Such a harsh word. All I want is to make humans safe in their own home.”

Lena felt pain and disgust rising to her face. “I doubt that, in all of history, any alien has killed more humans than Lex.”

“That precedent won’t last,” Lillian warned, “and you’re naïve to think it will. We’re attracting attention in a way that we never have before. Do you realize what a near miss we had with the Daxamite fleet? We need every advantage we can get, now, before the time comes. This is an opportunity to gain the technological expertise of an entire other Earth. How can you possibly let it pass you by?”

Lena folded her arms. “Okay, so I send him through my portal. He goes home, and then what?” She gave Lillian a sardonic look. “You’ll never hear from him again. You of all people should know better.”

Lillian’s smile was again patronizing. “I do know better. I’m doing what any sensible woman would do; I’m poisoning him.” Lena stared, aghast. “If he holds up his end of the deal,” her mother continued, “and comes back with the data, I’ll give him the antidote. If not, he and anyone he touches will be dead within thirty-six hours.”

Lena recoiled, folded arms dropping to her sides. “You’re insane.”

“Hardly. I have plenty of antidote on hand. Really, Lena, again with the harsh words? My earnest wish is for him not to die. All I’m asking is for you to let a man go home, twice. Is that so much to ask?”

“Coming from you, yes, it is.”

Her mother tut-tutted. “I was at least expecting you to play along again, but you don’t even have the vision for that? I raised you better than this, Lena.”

Lena made her voice cold. “You really didn’t… mother.” She turned and went back inside her apartment building. As she did, she murmured for Kara to hear, _“Follow her car.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot happened in my life in March and April, and it left precious little room for writing. I’m settling back into it, though. My hope now is to update every couple of weeks. I hope you enjoyed this one! Don’t be shy about commenting :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been two months again, but these two chapters are longer. This one is more plot-heavy, while the next is more relationship-focused.

Alex’s waking mind flashed through confusion, alarm, sadness, and contentment, all prompted by the arm she felt curled around her waist. No, it wasn’t Maggie’s arm, but it didn’t need to be. She laid her hand over Bobbi’s and snuggled her back into the woman’s front – and filled with doubt. How much affection was a good idea, if this wasn’t going to last? “Bobbi?” She murmured.

“Mmm?” The woman stirred behind her. “Hey, Alex.”

Alex smiled for a moment, though the blonde behind her couldn’t see. “Hey. Um… Bobbi, how much emotional attachment are you okay with?”

Bobbi was quiet for a moment. “As much as is healthy for you. My heart can handle intense temporary relationships.”

 _I’ve done this a lot,_ Alex’s brain translated. She hated that she’d had the thought.

“I know that not everyone is like that,” Bobbi continued. “You set the pace for us, okay?”

Just hearing ‘us’ for the first time since Maggie was enough to put a lump in Alex’s throat. “I’m worried I’ll cry when you leave.”

Bobbi’s arm held her tighter. “When I go home, it won’t be a loss for you. It’ll make room for someone who can stay with you.”

“I’ll probably still cry.”

“Then maybe that’s not something to worry about.”

Alex made an abrupt decision to roll over and face the woman sharing her bed. “What is this to you?”

“Special.” The alternate universe agent brushed Alex’s hair behind her ear. “You aren’t a passing amusement, if that’s what you mean. I’ll give you as much of my heart as you believe you can let go of at the end.”

Alex wet her lips. “Is everyone special to you?”

“That’s the truth, Alex. I’ve lived my adult life with much more uncertainty than most. I could be deployed anywhere, at any time. More often than not, I don’t know what I’ll be doing two weeks from now. This is the life I’ve chosen, but I need emotional connection as much as anyone. What I’ve learned, as a sort of survival skill for my heart, is to make quick judgements about who I want to share myself with, and then open up as much as they’re willing to match. When I see an opportunity to bond with someone – romantically or not – I go deep, fast. That’s what this is to me, Alex.”

“So…” Alex tried to hedge by making her expression apologetic. “You want to be my girlfriend for a week?” _If we even have that long,_ her mind added.

“I want to be your girlfriend for as long as I can.”

“And then you’ll move on.”

“I’ll start over somewhere else, or restart with someone who crosses my path again. That doesn’t lessen this for me. I want something real with you, Alex, even though I can’t stay. Especially because I can’t stay.”

That didn’t add up for Alex. “Especially?”

“With so little time together, I don’t want to waste any of it. I’m already so glad I got to be here for you last night, Alex. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me.”

Alex felt sadness around her eyes. “Please try.”

Bobbi pulled Alex closer. “I told you I’ve met a lot of lonely spies. Sometimes, one of them is me. I aim for deep connections, but like I said, it depends on who’s around me and what they want. It’s a rare privilege to have someone share herself the way you did. You let me be your best friend, Alex.” She cupped the redhead’s cheek. “There’s no feeling in the world like that.”

The touch of a hand on her cheek as she gazed into a woman’s eyes… “Hold me,” Alex said, as tears made their presence felt.

Bobbi rolled Alex on top of her and wrapped her up tight. “Somewhere out there is a woman who doesn’t know how lucky she is to be your future wife.”

Alex nodded against her tearstains on the blonde’s neck. If she’d known this conversation would end in tears, she might’ve gotten up without a word – no, that wasn’t right. Her tears formed long before Bobbi entered her universe. This… shot of intimacy only brought them to the surface. She’d fallen asleep happy last night, and that was important. That was hope. “Thank you,” she murmured.

“You deserve so much more than I can give you,” the SHIELD agent murmured back, “but I’ll give you everything I can, if you want me to.”

Alex kissed her. It wasn’t a dreamy kiss, nor an ecstatic kiss, but a please-I-need-this-now kiss. Bobbi met her with caring and meaning. Her hands found new homes, one on the back of Alex’s head and the other midway down her spine. Their firm presence assured Alex she was worth holding onto.

* * *

When her phone rang, Alex felt bitterly betrayed, but she made herself leave Bobbi’s warmth and sat on the edge of her bed. Caller ID showed the fake name she’d used for the DEO in her contacts. “Danvers.”

It was J’onn. _“We have a new wrinkle. Lillian Luthor is working with the Hydra agent. She approached Lena Luthor last night and asked for her cooperation.”_

Alex’s jaw dropped; sputtering followed. “What?! Why-” she got a grip; demanding an explanation from the boss was bad form. Better to be professional: “What’s the picture?”

_“To answer your first question, we had agents ready to respond, and your sister suggested you could use a night off.”_

Alex’s jaw dropped again. _Kara suggested…_ She covered her eyes. Was she that obvious?

_“After Lillian met with Lena, Supergirl tailed her to a building on the outskirts of the city. Vasquez and her team have the location under surveillance. The rest of us are checking our gear and sitting tight.”_

“Where do you want me now?”

_“Bring your guest to L-Corp. We’ll be done with the polygraph interviews by the time you arrive.”_

“Yes, sir. I’ll be there soon.” Alex put her phone down and turned around. “Major developme…” Words failed because Bobbi had sat up, leaving her long, tough, and nude upper body uncovered by the sheets. “I was too occupied to say this last night,” Alex said, eyes wide, “but wow, you are ripped.”

The taller agent offered a modest smile. “I’m still two pounds short of where I was before I took a bullet to the lung. What’s happened?”

Alex saved her incredulous ‘ _You were shot in the lung?!’_ for a later conversation. “The man from your Earth is connected with the most dangerous woman on ours.”

* * *

_“Miss Luthor, FBI Special Agent Danvers is here with the report you requested.”_

“Thank you, Jess. Send her in.” Lena rose from behind her desk to greet Kara’s sister. “I deeply appreciate the FBI’s help, Agent Danvers. Have a seat.” When she’d done the same, she flipped a switch under her desk. “Jammer. Now we can talk. Please tell me you found my mother’s spy.”

Alex opened a folder on Lena’s desk. “Probably. Our examiners reported one ‘deception indicated’ and one inconclusive, but the report won’t be official until the polygraph charts go through quality assurance. We’ve kept the two suspects from going back to their desks until we got your word.”

Lena looked at the names and sighed. “I’ll have them reassigned to projects on other floors until we know more. Thank you.” She flipped the switch under her desk again, picked up her desk phone, and dialed her portal project manager. “Romesh, I’m transferring Novotny and Watkins to the advanced computing division, effectively immediately. They can’t take anything with them. If there’s anything they want, have them give you a list. After our government friends search their desks, you can send them their things… If they object, remind them that they have no expectation of privacy in desks owned by the company… I don’t know yet if they’ve done anything wrong. If they haven’t, I’ll transfer them back and smooth things over. Have the rest of the team reintegrate the prototype in lab C-14. I want to place a long-distance call by close-of-business... I know I said we wouldn’t, but things have changed. I need to be present for all long-distance tests… Yes, the G-Men will be hanging around for the time being. Their job is to stay out of your way and get in anyone else’s… Don’t worry, they know whose building this is. I’ll be in an out of the lab all day, but I won’t bother you unless I need to. Call if you need anything.”

When Lena hung up, she found Alex smirking. “Whose building? Really?”

“A woman’s gotta own her turf.” Lena stood. “Let’s head down to the lab spaces. Getting everyone up here would turn too many heads.”

* * *

With the group gathered around a table in the lab adjacent to the portal reconstruction effort, Alex asked, “So what is it, exactly, that Lillian Luthor wants?”

“Technology to use against aliens,” Lena explained, “probably in the form of technical data and possibly including sample hardware. To get it, she intends to poison the Hydra agent and hold the antidote for ransom.”

Daisy spoke up. “Knowing Hydra, they may be willing to let him die.”

“I think she’s thought of that,” Lena answered. “Lillian claimed that the poison can be transmitted to other people by contact. If the contact doesn’t have to be skin-to-skin, if it can be skin-to-surface-to-skin, then the agent’s belongings will be contaminated.”

“Including his bag,” Bobbi realized. “Hydra may not be able to handle the financial records he’s carrying unless they have the antidote.”

“Couldn’t they wear gloves?” Kara asked.

Bobbi shook her head. “If I were a high-ranking Hydra executive, I probably wouldn’t take that risk. Too many ways to accidentally contaminate someone or something important.”

“Easier just to pay up,” Daisy agreed. “Hydra needs those records.”

“To carry out her plan,” Lena continued, “she needs to use a portal generator twice: once to send the agent back with her demands and again to send him back with the antidote.”

“What about the trip back to this universe?” Alex directed the question to Bobbi. “If he isn’t certain there’s another portal he can use in your universe, he’ll want Lillian to open a portal from here so he can come back with the tech.”

Lena spoke again, shaking her head. “I said that only for background. Lillian is not going to use my portals.” She faced J’onn and folded her arms. “Yesterday, you wanted to watch and see who the Hydra agent reached out to. Now we know. When will you apprehend them?”

“We haven’t had any leads on Cadmus since Lillian went to ground,” J’onn pointed out. “Now, we have every electronic listening device known to humankind aimed at her. We have to use this opportunity to find another link in her network.”

“She won’t get away,” Alex assured Lena. “If she moves, we’ll know.”

“At my usual speed,” Kara added, “it’s a twenty second flight from Catco to the building she’s hiding in. If we’re willing to shatter every window in National City, I can do it in three. She got away before because we weren’t prepared, Lena. This time we are.”

Lena set her tongue between her teeth, sighed, and looked at J’onn again. “The answer to the question, ‘Am I underestimating Lillian Luthor?’ is always ‘yes’. As we speak, she’s planning to coerce me into letting her use my portals. There’s something very nasty in our future.”

“Whatever that may be,” Daisy said, “letting the Hydra agent go through the portal will still not be an option for SHIELD. We need him and the documents and ledgers he’s carrying.”

“A bird in the hand, sir,” Bobbi said to J’onn. “Two big birds, in this case.”

Kara pursed her lips. “If we play along with Lillian, can you stay hidden at the portal site and then run in after he goes through?”

“No way.” Daisy shook her head. “If I were him, I’d turn around and cover the portal until it closed. We’d be shot before I could protect us.”

“What if you knew his destination?” Kara made another suggestion. “Lena has two portals, remember? We could take the Hydra agent to the big portal with the complicated security. When he gives us coordinates, we radio them to you at the portal here. While we’re making a fuss about codes and keys, you go through and wait for him.”

Bobbi exchanged a look with Daisy. “That’s an idea, but he could be planning to go direct to a Hydra headquarters. We’d need more than just the two of us to secure the portal exit.”

Alex nodded. “You have a whole agency, don’t you?”

“It’s a reasonable suggestion,” Daisy admitted, “but you’re asking my agency’s director to put his people in harm’s way because your director wants to wait until the last minute.”

“It’s one thing to weigh that risk internally,” Bobbi added, not wanting her DEO colleagues to get the wrong impression. “It’s different if you think you’re being pushed into it.”

J’onn rested his hands on the table. “The last we heard, Lillian Luthor’s Project Cadmus was abducting aliens and forcibly experimenting on people. Now that we’ve found her, we have a chance to learn about her plans by watching and listening. If we arrest her, she’s not going to reveal anything, and we’ll lose our only link to the rest of Cadmus. I have to get something – a place, a name, anything – that gives the FBI a start on rolling up the others working for Lillian. If I don’t, people will continue to suffer at their hands.”

Bobbi, Daisy, and Lena exchanged looks. “Human experimentation does change the picture,” Bobbi admitted.

“Human and alien,” Lena corrected.

“Yes.” Bobbi inclined her head for a moment. “Forgive me, Kara. We’ll take this to SHIELD.”

“In fairness,” Daisy suggested to her fellow agent, “we might mention that Hydra is a problem of our universe, not this one, and that the DEO’s been very generous to us.”

“Make a good case,” Lena said. “The next time I hear from Lillian, I expect to be under a lot more pressure. We may not have time to ask SHIELD again.”

“Do you have any ideas what she might try next?” J’onn asked her.

Lena sighed. “My first thought was that she’d go after the people who have the combinations to operate the large portal. I had plans in place to protect them and their families, and we’ve done so. My second thought…” She aimed a grim look at Kara. “She probably knows I’m close to Kara Danvers, so she might go after you. Since we know where she is, though, I’m less concerned about her taking hostages. What I’m worried about are the things I haven’t thought of.”

“If she has moles in L-Corp,” Daisy suggested, “could she threaten to leak embarrassing material – fabricated, presumably – to the media?”

“She did something like that the last time she needed you,” Kara pointed out, and looked to J’onn. “If anything comes across my desk at Catco, I’ll send it to Winn for him to look at.”

“I wouldn’t expect Lillian to repeat herself, though,” Lena warned.

“Whatever she comes up with,” J’onn assured her, “we’re watching and listening.”

Lena nodded to herself, then spoke to Bobbi. “I’ll call when the portal is ready. I presume you’re the one going through.”

“Right. If something goes wrong and I can’t get back, you need Daisy to catch the Hydra agent.” Daisy nodded, caught Bobbi’s eye, and smirked. The taller agent frowned. “Don’t.”

Kara’s brow furrowed. “What?”

“Don’t,” Bobbi warned Daisy again. “I know what you’re thinking.”

Daisy grinned, tilted her head back, pointed at the ceiling, and croaked, _“E.T. phone home.”_

With a stilted “I should get back to Catco,” Kara turned and headed for the door. Daisy went ashen under Bobbi’s and Alex’s combined glares. The DEO agent made a move to follow her sister, but changed her mind when Lena moved as well. The brunette caught up with Kara and, when they were out of the lab, put an arm around her. “I’m alright,” Kara muttered.

Lena kept her voice low. _“If you ever aren’t – and even when you are – I’m here for you, too.”_

“Thanks.” Kara took in a breath from her middle and let it out. “You have a test to watch.”

“May I come early for game night?”

Kara frowned. “I don’t think that’s happening tonight, under the circumstances.”

“All we’re planning to do is wait,” Lena pointed out. “We might as well all be in one place.”

“True. I’ll ask Alex – but either way, yes, by all means come over after work.”

“Thank you.” Lena’s embrace felt like home.

* * *

“It’s funny,” Bobbi said to Daisy, as the portal generator’s electronics hummed to life. “I didn’t have time to be nervous before.”

“Yeah,” Daisy agreed. “At least I don’t have to hold this one open for you.”

Finally, after hours of waiting, the portal generator-emitter-things – Bobbi was a biologist, not a quantum physicist – energized and filled the portal frame with deep blue ripples. The lead scientist studied the monitors and said something to Lena, who turned to Bobbi. “The wormhole is fully qualified in both directions. Go through as soon as you’re ready.”

“Home sweet home.” With a smile and a parting squeeze of Alex’s hand, Bobbi approached the portal. She told herself to keep walking as though the wall of blue energy weren’t there. It was a distortion in the fabric of the universe, right? There wasn’t actually any matter there, so really, it shouldn’t feel like anything…

…at all. She looked around the empty, decrepit office she’d asked Lena to send her to. The office, and the abandoned Rust Belt factory it was part of, was an on-again, off-again SHIELD safehouse. It might be abandoned for that purpose, too, now that a roomful of un-cleared civilians knew she’d gone there. Putting socioeconomic ruminations from her mind, Bobbi turned and confirmed that the wormhole was still active. Good. Stepping into the next room so that her voice wouldn’t carry back through the portal, she unzipped her suit partway, drew her combat knife, and pried apart the zipper’s pull tab. From inside it, she took a micro memory chip, which she inserted into her radio. The chip – one of the items she was unwilling to surrender to the DEO – was an encryption key for SHIELD’s emergency radio network. She turned on her transmitter and spoke. “Voiceprint: Mockingbird one seven three six Juliet Juliet. Message: seven, other, clear. Over.” The ensuing silence stretched for a minute, then two.

_“Agent Morse?”_

Bobbi grinned. “Agent May, you don’t even sound surprised.”

The tough woman did, however, sound pleased. _“I’d be surprised if I didn’t hear from you. What’s your status?”_

“Still on-mission, but in another universe. Daisy and I partnered with an agency of that universe’s U.S. government. They found us a portal so we could tell you we aren’t dead.”

_“Do you need support from HQ?”_

“Yes. We’ve fixed the Hydra agent’s location and we’re surveilling him and his contact from that universe. Our intent is to give them some time to expose more of their operations there. However, Hydra’s contact in that universe is almost certainly working on a plan to coerce the only person there known to possess portal technology. If their leverage is too strong, we want to send a SHIELD team to their universe, to go through another portal and arrive at the Hydra agent’s destination before he does.”

There was a pause. _“That plan has more moving parts than I’d like. It’ll need the director’s approval.”_

“Understood. They want to watch and wait because the Hydra agent’s contact is a member of an elusive organization that engages in abduction and experimentation on living subjects. It’s also worth remembering that Hydra is our problem, not theirs. They’ve been very cooperative, but we can’t expect them to do our work for us.”

_“The director and I will consider it. Can you come through again in three hours?”_

“Yes, or as soon after as I can.”

_“That’s the essentials, then. Any other messages for us?”_

“Daisy says Mack better not watch Game of Thrones without her.”

Bobbi heard one of May’s too-rare laughs. _“He complained yesterday that Hydra’s portal might’ve led to a parallel universe that’s a season ahead. I’ll be sure to let him know.”_

“Thanks. Give everyone our best.”

_“Will do. Keep up the good work, Agent Morse. Out.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always welcome! They make my day :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Never trust fanfic as a sole source for health and safety information, including on self-defense. I could research proper techniques, but I don't want to spend more time on this chapter.  
> 2\. Don’t panic.

Kara put in a furious afternoon at Catco, managing to get her revised drafts to Snapper with time to spare – time she knew she’d spend revising her revisions. After she’d caught on that the grouchy editor wasn’t holding her to his impossible standards but instead pushing her to raise her own, working with him came easier. Kara still didn’t like his coaching style, but now that she understood his intent, she could filter out his attitude. Usually.

Five o’clock came and went, but Kara knew Catco was closer to her apartment than L-Corp – not that Lena ever left at five, anyway. She could afford to spend a while longer on making this article perfect. Otherwise, her first human interaction tomorrow would be when Snapper, not yet caffeinated, called her out on edits he knew she knew to make. Kara shuddered and put a little super-speed into her typing.

Thanks to a few flying shortcuts through alleys, she made it to her apartment before Lena. In Kara’s absence, Daisy was with Bobbi and Alex, so they’d have the place to themselves. Kara smiled as she set her bag on the table and shucked off her jacket. Having Lena to herself…

The knock came and Kara swung the door wide. “Come in, let me take your coat.”

Lena smiled back and stepped inside. “Thank you again for letting me come early.”

It was such typical Lena, Kara thought, as she helped the woman out of her long coat; genuine gratitude, pleasant delivery, and deep emotion underneath. It was so at odds with the popular perception of the ruthless Luthor. Kara wondered why she was the only person who seemed to see it. “Of course! I would’ve met you when you left L-Corp, but I couldn’t get away from Catco in time.”

“You would have?” Lena sounded curious, but there was again something deep underneath. Kara couldn’t tell what.

“Why would I wait to see you?” As the words came out, Kara felt herself shift from affection to self-consciousness. Those words were… not confined to the realm of platonic relationships. Given current events, this was not the time to rock the boat with Lena – and was boat-rocking even a good idea? She panicked and fell back on what she knew: stuttering and misdirection. “I- I mean…”

“Shush.”

Kara froze, feeling chastised and, therefore, guilty.

“Do you need to break the habit of holding back from me?” That Lena’s smile didn’t reach her eyes was so obvious to Kara that it hurt, but before she could gather her stunned emotions, Lena turned contrite and stepped closer. “I’m sorry, Kara. I meant for that to come out lightly, but it still would’ve been wrong to say it.”

“No, Lena, you’re not the one who needs to apologize. I-”

“Yes, I am,” Lena insisted, “and you’re not, because I forgave you. I should’ve confronted you when I thought you were deceiving me, so I’m sorry for that, too.”

In the midst of the sudden squall in Kara’s heart, that was a concrete point to focus on. “Lena, if you had, you might’ve spent the rest of your life wondering if I would’ve ever told you on my own.”

“That is more true than I care to admit.” Lena sighed. “Kara, I came here early because I didn’t want to wait to see you, either. I… since you told me that you’re Supergirl, we’ve had two very heavy – and very good – conversations, but we haven’t been able to relax together. I think we need that. So you being eager to see me, too – that’s not something I hear much, but I’m really glad. I guess I…” Lena rolled her eyes. “But that would keep things heavy.” She moved towards Kara’s living room. “Let’s sit, please. Tell me about your day.”

Kara complied with the first request, but, once they settled onto her couch, she tapped a finger on the back of Lena’s hand. “Speaking as a person who kept something heavy from someone who cares about me for way too long, I suggest we get everything else out now.”

After a long pause in which her eyes searched Kara’s, Lena stated, “I’m afraid that if all our conversations are as heavy as these, you’ll stop enjoying spending time with me.”

“I like caring for you.” Again, the words came out with conviction, immediate and unfiltered. This time, Kara chose to stick with that conviction, even as part of her urged her to hedge again.

Lena eyed her with the curiosity of someone encountering an alien idea. “You like caring for me?”

“I do, and it means a lot to me that you let me – and I won’t forget how to have fun with you, if you’re worried about that.”

“I am,” Lena admitted. “You’re more fun than anyone I’ve known. I’d hate for us to lose that.”

Kara shook her head and smiled. “Never.”

Lena tried to smile back, but something else weighed her down. “I want to ask you something. You don’t have to answer.” She paused and received an affirming nod from Kara. “How often do you think about how things might have been?”

The question made Kara’s breath hitch. They’d talked about her being Supergirl, she realized, but this was the first mention of her origins. “I remember Krypton, mostly my family, more days than I don’t. Specific thoughts about the future I would’ve had… maybe two times in three weeks. Sometimes more, sometimes less.”

For a while, Lena’s only response was a somber nod. “I’ve felt guilty,” she began, “or maybe just wrong, at times since you told me. The only reason I have my best friend is that her entire world ended.” Her voice grew thick with emotion. “Why should I gain from something you’d give anything to change?”

Kara protested with wide eyes. “Lena, no, that’s not fair to you.”

“If the universe was fair, you’d never have met me.”

“My mother was a judge,” Kara replied quietly. “It was her job to bring fairness and justice to people who needed it. She used to say that the universe isn’t fair, but nothing that happens is completely bad. Some things are extremely bad, even overwhelmingly and excruciatingly bad, but never entirely bad. There’s always at least a speck of good, or potential good, if you look for it. That doesn’t make the bad thing okay. It just means that no matter what happens today, we can always go to bed hopeful for tomorrow. I didn’t truly understand what mom meant by all that until the first time Alex made me laugh. Lena, I… I’d give almost anything to go back and save Krypton, but Earth is my home now. You, the Danvers family, my friends, this sun, this city, this apartment; this is home. If I could save Krypton, I would, but I don’t think I’d go back to stay.”

Lena looked stunned. “You wouldn’t?”

Kara’s smile made her seem old. “Part of my heart will always be with Krypton. After so long on Earth, a bigger part is here. I would give almost anything to talk to my parents again, but not if it meant leaving Alex behind. I wish I could see my old best friends again, but I wouldn’t trade you for them. You seem surprised, Lena,” she observed.

“It’s just… I never imagined you’d see it that way.”

Kara bit her lip. “That I wouldn’t live there now, or that I wouldn’t give you up?”

Lena made a face of helplessness. “Both, since you asked.”

Shifting closer on the couch, Kara asked, “What put all of this on your mind, Lena?”

“I…” Lena’s next breath sounded unsteady, and Kara reached out by reflex. Her grip on Lena’s shoulder seemed to settle the woman. “I’ll tell you, but you have to promise me not to leave, and not to say nothing.” Kara, her brow furrowed with concern, assured Lena that she wouldn’t. Lena nodded and continued. “I have never had someone I could actually rely on. My biological mother died – which isn’t a criticism, but it’s what happened. My father let me believe he wasn’t my real father. Lillian… is Lillian, and my brother degenerated into a mad murderer. I have had classmates, I have had business partners, but never anyone that I could trust to still be there beyond the short run. Then came Kara Danvers, who did something profound.” Lena held Kara’s eyes while she paused for breath. “She believed in me. She has stood up for me, had my back, even rushed to my side as Supergirl when I was in danger. And then… then I find out that my best friend, this amazing woman who I want to always have in my life, is on my planet against her will. The best thing I could possibly do for her is invent a time machine and save her planet, but then I’d never see her again. So if I finally have someone I can trust, it’s by accident, and it’s callous and selfish of me to be glad I have her.”

“Sto-” Kara’s voice cracked. “Stop. I am not here against my will. Lena… Lena, if you built a time machine, we would go back and save Krypton, spend a while with my family, and then _come home.”_ She emphasized it with a squeeze of Lena’s shoulder. “Maybe it’s an accident that I came to this planet, but it will never be an accident that I stay. I’m not leaving my home and I will always be here for you.”  By the time Kara finished speaking, Lena’s eyes brimmed with tears. “What’s wrong?”

The brunette shook her head. “Some things can wait until we get Lillian.”

Kara remembered her earlier misgivings about rocking the boat. If Lena felt the same… New hope sprang up in her chest. “When I say ‘always’, I really mean it. I know you, Lena. It’s not possible for you to push me away.”

Lena swallowed hard. “Are we really best friends?”

“Of cou-” Another potential meaning hit Kara. The apartment seemed to spin around her – and then everything else evaporated, leaving Lena, herself, and an intoxicating sense of purpose. “We are,” she said, shifting even closer, “but that can be a beginning, not an end.”

Lena warmed up, showing a small smile and bright eyes. “I’d like to begin with you, Kara.”

“Lena Luthor, I’d like to begin with you, too.” Kara held her smile for one second, two – and then the pair broke down giggling. Lena laid her hands on either side of the base of Kara’s neck, and Kara took that as an invitation to move into a more intimate position. She shifted and brought Lena to kneel astride her lap, bringing their faces close. Close to Lena’s eyes, her cheekbones, her jaw, her lips…

As Lena closed the final inch, Kara’s last thought was ‘ _this is what I’m for’._

* * *

When Lena drew back, it was to ask, “What are we, Kara?”

The blonde tilted her head in question. “Each other’s adoring girlfriends?”

Lena nodded. “I just don’t want to find out later that my idea of ‘girlfriends’ isn’t the same as yours.”

Kara offered a smile. “What can I ease your mind about?”

“Do you want to see other people?”

“No. My heart wants one person to focus on, and that’s you. You’re the same, I think.”

“Yes. Do you want to have sex?”

Kara almost scoffed, but contained herself. “Obviously. I-” a tightened grip on her hand stopped her.

“Nothing’s obvious.” Lena’s eyes looked vulnerable. “Even if you think it should be, please assume that it’s not, because hearing you say it will mean a lot to me.”

“I understand, and I’ll try. I absolutely want to sleep with you, but I’m not in a rush. If you want to wait a while, I’ll still have everything else about you to enjoy.”

“I want to get used to being a girlfriend before we add sex – and I do want to add it.” Lena counted on her fingers. “Label, exclusivity, sex; how about PDA?”

Kara’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding? I would love to be affectionate in public! Sorry,” she added. “I’ll get better about the ‘obvious’ thing.”

“Not in front of people at L-Corp, but otherwise, me, too. And I will, too.” Lena pressed close for another, much longer kiss.

“I really like that.” Kara’s voice came out unexpectedly breathy.

“So do I.” Lena’s did, too, and thrilling streams of affection and desire filled her eyes. “Any more questions?”

The blonde shook her head. “None now. You?”

Tracing patterns with her fingertips on the back of Kara’s shoulders, Lena asked, “If you could’ve brought some piece of Krypton with you, or could recreate something about your home there, what would it be?”

Kara grinned. “Our medical knowledge, obviously.”

Lena’s laugh was the purest sound Kara had ever heard. “You are too good,” the woman said, her green eyes shining.

“Seriously, Lena,” Kara continued, smiling just as bright, “we had our entire genome down cold. No hereditary diseases or genetic risk factors. We’d solved entire fields of medicine. Like, _solved._ Done.”

With a playful look, Lena asked, “I couldn’t talk you into filing some patents, could I?”

“Uh…” Kara hesitated.

“I wasn’t serious, Kara.”

Kara wet her lips. “Maybe you should be.”

Lena’s mouth opened silently, but then she waved her hand. “No business tonight. What about something from Krypton just for you? What might you like to have in your apartment or in your environment to remind you of home?”

“I am home,” Kara said firmly.

“Sorry. I believe you; that was from habit. Your childhood home?”

“That’s more accurate, thank you. What would I like from Krypton…” she considered. “Some days, it’d be nice to wake to red sunlight again. It was such a calming first sight. If you were up early, watching the dawn was like being inside a ruby. One of the worst things to adapt to on Earth was opening my eyes to bright yellow-white sunlight every morning. For the first ten days, I started every day with eyestrain.”

“So many little obstacles you wouldn’t think of,” Lena mused. “What was the first thing you loved about Earth?”

“Alex.”

“D’awww.” Lena smiled indulgently. “About Earth’s environment, though.”

“I wanted to love the sunlight, actually. With sunglasses, or after my eyes adapted, the yellow light and blue sky make everything appear crisper than on Krypton. There’s more contrast, and it’s gorgeous being in nature here. I couldn’t think about Earth’s lighting without remembering Krypton’s, though, so I couldn’t love it for a long time. The first thing I really loved…” Kara grinned again. “Seeing my breath fog.”

“Really?” Lena sounded amused and looked fascinated. “Did that not happen on Krypton?”

“You had to go a long way towards a pole or up a mountain to find somewhere cold enough, and my family never did. Soon after I came here, though, my parents took Alex and I camping in the mountains so we could get a good view of Rao through a telescope.”

“Was that hard?”

“It was crushing,” Kara admitted. “Kryptonian spirituality revolved around Rao – literally, I guess. Lots of ceremonies and meditations talked about being in Rao’s light. Now, not only was my whole world gone, but Rao’s light was a red pinprick I could only see through a telescope. My metaphysical frame of reference was ripped away, too. That night, I truly saw that I’d lost everything.”

Lena looked distraught. “That’s awful, Kara.”

“Yes, but the trip helped me bond with Alex.”

“Nothing is all bad,” Lena murmured.

“Exactly.” Kara smiled. “I want to kiss you again.”

“Be my guest, Kara.”

* * *

When Alex, Bobbi and Daisy arrived, Lena stood – and not to make pleasantries. “Have those listening devices caught anything from my mother?”

“Nothing that the director thinks I need to know about,” Alex answered, letting go of Bobbi’s hand as her thoughts turned from play to work. “If what they’re hearing about doesn’t create a need for my skillset, J’onn won’t bother me.”

“Would he bother you if it’s been nineteen hours and he’s heard nothing at all?”

All of the agents frowned. Alex pulled out her phone and made a call. “Director? Have we intercepted any of the subject’s communications?” The crease faded from her forehead as she listened. “Good. Understood.” She hung up and addressed Lena. “We collected three wireless VoIP calls between twelve forty-five and two A.M., and another at four-thirty A.M. The audio was encrypted, but the FBI is working on tracing the calls’ destinations.”

“Is it normal for that to take all day?”

“Depends,” Daisy answered, “on how well they covered their tracks.”

Lena’s tension eased, though it didn’t disappear. “Then it could be that she’s waiting to hear that other pieces of her plan are in place before making her next move.”

“You don’t sound convinced,” Kara noted.

Bobbi caught Lena’s tone, too. “Does that not fit her profile?”

“No, it fits perfectly. She likes to pull strings and make everything come together at once.” Lena sighed. “What doesn’t fit is that I have a good picture of what’s going on. We know where she is, what she wants, and we’re tracking her communications. It makes me worry that our picture is wrong.”

With a concerned and quizzical look, Kara asked, “Have you beaten her at chess?”

“No.” Lena sounded flat. “She wouldn’t play with me. I think she didn’t want me to believe I was better than her at anything.”

“You think she was maintaining a psychological edge over her school-age adopted daughter?”

Lena shrugged. “You say that like it’s surprising. It’s paying off for her now. She’s calmly waiting to hear from her minions, while I’m questioning my judgement over and over. The good news is,” she told Kara, “that SHIELD is willing to intercept the Hydra agent. They’re confident they can do it safely.”

“What’s your reaction time?” Kara asked the SHIELD agents.

“With no advance notice,” Bobbi answered, “ten minutes. If you give us at least that much warning, we can come through in half a minute.”

“That’s encouraging,” Kara pointed out to Lena. “Even if she could fly, Lillian couldn’t get to your portal test site in ten minutes. Let’s use this time to relax. When things start happening, we want to be sharp, not stressed out.”

At last, Lena smiled. “Alright, let’s have ourselves a game night.”

“What do you guys like to play?” Daisy asked.

“I’m assuming,” Bobbi added, “that bridge is too much to hope for.”

“It is.” Lena shot a look at Kara. “Someone keeps finding excuses not to learn.”

“You’re talking to the wrong Danvers,” Alex said. “Mom is all about it.”

“Yeah, but I crush her at Pictionary – do you have Pictionary?” Kara demanded of her alternate universe guests.

“Hell, yeah,” Daisy answered.

“Oh, but there’s five of us,” Kara realized.

Bobbi smiled at Alex and collected her hand again. “I’d be happy to cuddle while you play.” Alex met her words with a look of heartfelt gratitude.

“No helping,” Kara warned the taller agent. “And don’t think you can whisper. I’ll hear.”

Alex scoffed. “You’re playing with Lena again, right? She’s as smart as any two of us anyway.”

“And if I’m drawing for Alex,” Daisy pointed out, grinning, “then she might need someone from my universe as an interpreter.”

Kara sighed, then turned fierce. “Alright, Lena. We gotta bring it tonight.”

After a chuckle, Alex asked, “Lena, would you set up? I need Kara for a minute.”

* * *

Once the door to Kara’s room closed behind them, Alex asked the question she’d borne all day; “You told J’onn to give me the night off? With Lillian Luthor on the loose?”

“Not loose,” Kara answered, gentle but firm. “Vasquez and three others joined me fifteen minutes after I called in, and we had the whole DEO night watch geared up and ready to go. Even then, if the Hydra agent moved, or if Lillian headed for him, J’onn would’ve called you in. Alex, after everything you’ve given the DEO, you deserve time for what you want.”

A look of affectionate frustration accompanied Alex’s reply. “And you knew I what I wanted how?”

Kara laid a hand on her sister’s arm. “Because last night, when you were talking to Bobbi and Lena, was the longest and brightest I’ve seen the spark of joy stay in your eyes since Maggie.”

“So I really am that obvious,” the redhead muttered.

Kara smiled. “To your sister, at least – but don’t say that like it’s a bad thing. Why shouldn’t it be obvious when you’re enjoying someone’s company?” She took Alex’s hands. “Alex, I want you to be so happy that you can’t keep it inside.”

Alex turned their hands so hers held Kara’s. “You are the most incredible blessing, Kara Zor-El. I wouldn’t be my best self without you.”

Kara hugged her close and tight, feeling warmth, love, and a likelihood of tearing up. “Nor I without you.” A few steadying breaths later, she added, “Also, please remind your future wife of that after Supergirl gives her the shovel talk.”

“I’m not marrying anyone who doesn’t see that herself,” Alex murmured.

When they parted, Kara kept one of Alex’s hands. “Are you going to be okay when Bobbi leaves?”

Alex shook her head. “Not right away. It’ll suck, but I’ve accepted that. I’m going to enjoy this now, weather the hurt when it comes, and live my life with more hope than before.”

“I see that hope in you when you’re with her. I see moments of heartache, too, though.”

With a nod, Alex glanced down and showed some of that ache. “That’s me remembering that this is temporary. But I’ve also realized that any relationship will be temporary, even ’til death do us part’. I think what matters for us – what makes it real – is that we’re choosing to be together while we can. Ultimately, I want long-term commitment, but I’m glad I can be with her now.” Alex smiled. “She is so good to talk to, Kara, and having someone touch me because they like me…”

Kara nodded and squeezed her hand – and then a sly look crept into her face. “So, did you…?”

“Kara,” Alex said in her best older-sister warning voice.

The blonde smirked. “You did, didn’t you.”

Alex showed exasperation. “Kara…”

“You did! I knew it! You two totally did.” Kara laughed at the dirty look Alex aimed at her, then hugged her sister again. “I’m glad, Alex. I’m happy you did.” When the redhead smiled but said nothing, Kara brought back her sly tone. “How was it?”

Alex gave in and grinned. “Extranormal.”

Kara grinned back. “You deserve it. I have some news of my own: Lena and I are starting a relationship.”

“I’ve been waiting to hear that.” Alex smiled wide. “That’s wonderful, Kara. From what I’ve seen, you’re good for each other.”

“You saw this coming?” Kara demanded.

“Oh, come on, what did you just tell me about being obvious to your sister? You already touch like a couple, and the way you make each other smile is priceless.” Alex expression settled into warm encouragement. “Hold her tight, Kara.”

Kara’s eyes filled with images of Lena. “Already on it.”

* * *

On returning to the living room, Kara was intercepted by Daisy. “Hey,” the SHIELD agent began, “I’m… terrible at apologies.” She sighed and started over. “Kara, I’m sorry I made the E.T. joke.”

Kara shrugged. “I shouldn’t have reacted like that. It’s okay.”

“Yeah, but it’s not, though,” Daisy persisted, “because I don’t think the joke was the main problem. I forgot that you aren’t human, Kara. I can tell you put a lot of effort into blending in, but if it were me, it would matter to me that the people who know, remember. I forgot who you are. That’s what I really need to apologize for.”

Kara felt herself softening as Daisy’s words hit home. Everyone she loved had forgotten at least once. Eliza and Jeremiah had. Alex had. James and Winn had. Lena would, sooner or later. She didn’t hold it against them, but whenever it happened, it left a mark.

“I know what it’s like,” Daisy said, “to want people to embrace what’s different about you without assuming you’ll ever fit into their ‘normal’.”

An overwhelming need to hug swept Kara, and she held the agent close. “I forgive you.”

Under so much warmth, Daisy’s impulse to deflect took over. “Good,” she joked, “I don’t want to be on Supergirl’s bad side.”

“Don’t cheapen it,” Kara chided gently. “That meant a lot to me.”

“Sorry,” Daisy muttered.

Kara drew back from the hug but kept her hands on the agent’s arms. “You’re valuable, Daisy Johnson.”

Daisy felt herself tense and looked away. “Maybe let’s not do… this.”

With a small nod and a squeeze on her shoulder, Kara let her go.

* * *

No one out-sketched Lena, but Daisy gave Kara a run for her money at guessing. The competition made everyone thirsty, and they broke for drinks before playing Taboo. Daisy, a woman of simple tastes, found herself alone back in the living room while the others still milled about Kara’s kitchen. Kara… the young alien woman was so normal, yet extraordinary in Daisy’s experience.

“You’re staring at my sister.”

Daisy looked up into Alex’s gently smirking eyes. “Wasn’t. Just… thinking.”

The woman nodded and sat down alongside her. “Mind if I ask what you were thinking about?”

Daisy’s default reaction would be to brush the woman off, but what the hell. This was another universe; no consequences would follow her home. “I was just thinking that not too many years ago, I would’ve hated her on principle. All sunny smiles and blonde hair…” Daisy looked at Kara and shook her head. “That’s about what I’ve been through, not who she is. What I feel now, though, when I watch her, is wistful. I can’t help thinking that someday, the universe is going to hit her with something horrible, and it’s going to crush that sunshine out of her heart.”

“It already tried.”

Daisy looked back at Alex. “Hmm?”

“The universe has already hit her with more than anyone should be able to bear. That’s the point.” Kara’s sister shifted to fully face Daisy. “Did she tell you she was adopted on Earth?”

“Yeah.” Daisy wasn’t thrilled to hear the topic raised again.

“Did she tell you when and how?”

“No.”

“When Kara was thirteen, her parents put her in a pod and launched her into space, and then she watched her planet explode. Everything she knew and everyone she loved died.”

Daisy’s eyes went wide and blank as she tried to process what she’d just heard. “Oh my god.”

“She came to this planet with nothing but her name and her character.”

“And she turned out like that…” Daisy sighed, then huffed. “Well, I’m never feeling fucking sorry for myself again.”

Alex chuckled. “I tried telling myself that for a while. Didn’t work that well.”

“Yeah, probably not.”

After a quiet moment, Alex spoke again. “Was she hitting close to home when you talked to her earlier?”

“Spooky close,” Daisy admitted.

“She does that.” Alex sipped at her drink. “She’s not telepathic, but she’s so empathetic. Great instinct for expressions and body language, too. It’s even more impressive because she spent her early years in an alien culture – or rather, we’re the alien culture. My point is, if she brought something raw in you to the surface, don’t ignore it. Find someone to talk to about it.”

“Is she good at that, too?” Daisy’s tone was dry, but she wasn’t fooling either of them.

“For anything to do with identity or loss, I think she’s as good as any professional. For everything else, she’s all you could ask for in a friend.”

Daisy sighed. “I am kinda stuck here with her, so…”

“Whatever gets you started,” Alex said, smiling, then looked up as the others returned. “Who’s going first?”

“You are,” Kara and Lena answered together.

“Competitive, are we?” Bobbi chuckled. She sat on the floor at Alex’s feet and extended her hands. The redhead took them and slid off the couch, settling against the tall blonde’s side.

“You are too fucking cute together,” Daisy muttered. Bobbi stuck her tongue out and made a face as her arm curled around Alex’s shoulders.

* * *

Lena grinned and scooted forward to the edge of the couch. “Alright, Supergirl. It’s go time.”

“You aren’t getting twelve words in a minute,” Bobbi taunted. “You know we’re gonna win.”

“New personal record, Lena,” Kara said, shaking out her hands and arms as though readying for some feat of strength. She put her fingers on the stack of Taboo cards.

“The card stays _flat,”_ Alex warned with a narrowed-eyed glare. “No sliding it partway off the deck, either.”

“Says the girl who went through mom’s chemicals for something sticky to put on her hands,” Kara retorted.

“Did not! I only read the safety data sheets!”

“Ready?” Daisy looked at Lena and Kara, who nodded, and then at her watch. “And… go!”

Kara turned over her first word card. “Pointy hippo.”

Lena lit up. “Rhinoceros!”

Kara dropped the card and drew another. “I hug like a-”

“Koala!”

New card. “Alex’s first girl crush-”

“Xena!”

Alex hung her head back against the couch seat and muttered, _“Of course you told her.”_ At her side, Bobbi gave her a peck on the cheek and held her closer.

“Steampunk optometry.”

“Monocle!”

Kara flipped up another card. “I wear a-”

“Ca-” Lena’s face went ghost-white. “Lillian’s gone.”

Everyone froze.

“I’m an idiot,” the brunette said to no one, then focused on Kara again. “When she tried to sell me on helping her, she named some technologies from Hydra’s universe. One of them was-”

“Cloaking,” Kara finished in a stunned voice.

“Does that mean what I think?” Alex asked.

“Of course it does,” Lena snapped, her self-criticism spilling over.

Alex swore and stood, phone in hand. “Bobbi, tell me that Hydra can’t have given Lillian any kind of invisibility device.”

Bobbi opened her mouth and closed it again. “I can’t rule it out.”

As Alex, grim-faced, made the call to the DEO, Lena sank deep into the couch and covered her eyes. Kara held her tight.

* * *

**_Elsewhere._ **

“Did you make plans with your partners for your group project?”

Her daughter rolled her eyes as they pulled into their driveway. “Yes, mom. We’re going to Gail’s house after school tomorrow.”

“Good. I just can’t help thinking about the last group project, when…” She paused. The front lights of her house hadn’t come on. They should have; they were connected to a motion detector.

“Mom?”

Maybe they’d burned out?

“Mom?”

No, they wouldn’t all burn out at the same time. She looked at the house next door. Its lights were on, so there wasn’t a power outage. There was probably a glitch with the motion detector. Why was this making her anxious? “Nothing, honey. Let me just get the lights.” She pulled her keys from the ignition and pressed a button on her smart-home fob. The interior lights came on, but not the front lights. She frowned.

“Mom? Is something wrong?”

Her mind filled with flashbacks to the advanced self-defense courses her boss insisted she take. They’d seemed like burdensome overkill at the time, but she’d taken them seriously for her daughter’s sake. Now… “Wait here a second,” she said, unbuckled her seatbelt, and opened the door. Keeping wary eyes on her house and lawn, she stepped out of the car.

A hard prod in the ribs stopped her. “Don’t move,” a cold male voice ordered. After a stunned moment – dammit, she’d been too focused on the house – she turned her head as slowly as she could and found a man holding a pistol to her side. “The only way you see your daughter again,” he said, “is if you stay still and quiet.”

She took a long breath, gave the smallest nod of her life, and did both, keeping her hands where they were – until the man took a step back. As soon as the gun barrel was out of contact with her body, she chopped sideways with her hand and deflected the gun to her right – away from her daughter. The gun went off and she heard her daughter shriek. Adrenaline enabled her to ignore both distractions; she seized the man’s wrist, twisted hard, and aimed a sharp kick between his legs. The combination was enough to loosen the his grip, and she got the gun away. Elbowing hard, she gained space to turn, face him, and get inside his reach again. In a second, she had a grip on his neck and the pistol under his jaw. “Freeze or I shoot.”

The man struggled and grabbed at the gun. “You won’t.”

Her self-defense instructor had drilled into her head that a weapon you aren’t willing to use is worse than useless. Your assailant will sense your hesitation and take advantage of it. By threatening someone with a weapon, you commit to following through on your threat.

She followed through.

Her daughter screamed. The scream mingled with the sound of breaking glass and groaning metal, and the woman spun. On the other side of her car, a figure she recognized from the news had ripped a door off: Cyborg Superman. She remembered something about him being bulletproof, but took aim anyway.

Another gun poked into her back. “Ms. Arias,” a woman’s voice said, “I’d hate to deprive a daughter of her mother.”

That sounded like hesitation. She whirled-

_Bang._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always welcome.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, so here's a longer chapter for you :)

Kara landed at the DEO and met the others as they came through the main entrance. A few minutes earlier, she’d called in with the news that the Hydra agent was gone from his hideout, too. Her face showed pain as they gathered around the main briefing table. “Why did we ever think watching and waiting was a good idea?”

“To stop people being experimented on,” Daisy reminded her.

“We say in SHIELD,” Bobbi added, “that operations fail for one of three reasons: failure to prepare, failure to learn from the past, and failure of imagination. This is a wake-up call; with Lillian and Hydra, we have no margin for error on the last one.”

“And I’m supposed to be the one with the imagination,” Lena muttered.

Kara gripped her hours-old girlfriend’s hand. “We still need you.”

Whatever Lena might’ve said in response was preempted by the hum of her phone vibrating. She pulled it from her pocket and furrowed her brow. “My CFO. She’s never called this late…” She walked away to take the call.

“When she’s done,” Bobbi said to the others, “I want to ask her whether Lillian is likely to-

“What?!” Lena’s raised voice silenced them. “Wait- Sam, wait a second.” The woman hurried back to her friends and put her phone on speaker. “Okay, now tell me everything.”

The voice coming through the phone was raw with tears and helpless anger. _“Lillian, her cyborg, and another man were waiting for me at home. Lillian and the cyborg grabbed Ruby and ran.”_

They looked at each other. “And the other one?”

 _“I… he’s dead.”_ There was a silence. _“I need to call the police now...”_

Lena picked up on her CFO’s hesitancy. “Sam, what else is there?”

 _“Lena…”_ There was an audible gulp. _“I’m bulletproof. Like Supergirl.”_

Those listening stared at each other. When Lena regained her voice, she said, “I’m glad to hear that.”

_“I can help rescue Ruby.”_

Lena locked eyes with Alex. “Sam, I think we would be wise to let the professionals handle this.”

_“Lena, they can’t hurt me! I can help!”_

Alex spoke. “Sam? My name is Agent Alex Danvers. I’m one of the people who will be going in to get your daughter back. Is she bulletproof?”

 _“I-”_ They heard a pained sigh over the phone.

“I’m sure you’d do anything for her,” Alex continued, “but what she needs now is for my team to do our job.”

“Sam,” Lena said, “let us bring you to where we are. We were expecting something from Lillian, and I’m with the best people in the world. I’m literally standing next to Supergirl.”

Kara nodded. “We’ll get Ruby back, Sam.”

_“Okay. I need to call the police.”_

“We’ll send someone to get you when they’re done,” Lena said, then glanced sharply at Kara. “Wait, Sam, is it apparent that you were shot?”

_“Uh… I don’t understand.”_

“Are there any holes or marks on your clothing or skin?”

 _“Um… wow, no – actually, yes, there’s a bit of… I guess you’d call it residue on my blouse, but no hole – but I won’t be able to explain where the third gunshot went.”_ The woman sounded alarmed by the thought.

“Sam,” Alex said, “I’ll give you the number of a police detective who specializes in unusual cases. You can trust her to keep the details about you secret.” She recited Detective Sawyer’s phone number and had Sam read it back. “Tell her Special Agent Danvers told you to call her instead of 911. Tell her everything and do everything she says.”

_“I will.”_

“You’re not alone in this, Sam,” Lena assured her. “We’re stronger together.” At those words, Kara gave her hand a squeeze.

_“Thank you. Thank you, Lena.”_

When they hung up, Lena spoke to Alex with concerned intent. “You need to go get her. Don’t wait for her to call. Go now and stick by her until the police are done with her.”

Alex’s brows knit. “You think she’ll try something?”

“Sam’s been a single mom since a young age,” Lena said in explanation, “and she’s spent all that time fighting for her daughter like a tiger. I can’t count the number of times she’s said, ‘I’m all Ruby has’. If she thinks she’s invulnerable – yes, I’m afraid she’ll try something. Please bring her in.”

“Alright. Daisy, brief the director; I’ll call in once I’m driving. Kara, if something happens before I get back, listen to Bobbi like you would to me.”

“I will.” As Alex headed for the exit, Kara turned her attention to the SHIELD agents. “If SHIELD has cloaking technology, too, will you let me look at it? I might be able to see something.”

“Yes,” Bobbi answered immediately, to Daisy’s evident surprise. “It will either come with the condition that you tell absolutely no one what you can see, or that you tell us in detail.”

“Fine, yes.” Kara said impatiently. “There’s a girl’s life at stake.”

“SHIELD,” Daisy said, “will be thinking about how many more lives will be at stake if you find a flaw in our cloaking systems and word gets out. Be calm and serious while you’re there.”

“I’ll do my Agent Danvers impression,” Kara assured her. “Lena, can you take Bobbi to L-Corp and get the portal ready?”

Lena shook her head. “No. Fly me there so I can start working on it now. We’ll open a portal for Bobbi to come to us.”

* * *

Even with only a few data points, Lena felt confident that commercial aircraft were in fact the second-safest way to travel; the safest way was in Supergirl’s arms. Under other circumstances, she might have even enjoyed it. Instead, she pressed her face into the crook of Kara’s neck – not out of comfort, but for relief from the wind screaming past her eyes. Maybe if they were flying slower, maybe in a bridal carry instead of like a sloth hanging from a missile, maybe if Sam’s daughter hadn’t been kidnapped because she overlooked something so stupidly obvious-

“Stay with me, Lena,” Kara murmured. Since sound itself was barely keeping up with them, Lena felt her voice as much as heard it.

Not that it mattered. “I failed.”

“Our plan failed. _We_ haven’t failed.”

Lena let out a single sardonic laugh. “That’s very nice, but it’s bullshit.”

“Tell me this,” Kara said; “is failure the lack of success, or is it the impossibility of success?”

“What’s the difference?”

“I’m asking you, Lena.”

Lena frowned against her girlfriend’s neck. “One is correctable.”

“Right. So, have you failed?”

“By your definition, no.”

“Lena, are you going to use definitions to keep yourself down, or are you going to get back up?”

Lena sighed. “What kind of CEO needs a pep talk?”

“A real one,” Kara answered. “You know what the most important lesson I learned as Supergirl is?”

“What?”

“No matter how what, if something isn’t over, you haven’t failed yet. You can still succeed.”

Lena chuckled. “Yogi Berra?”

“What? Yoga berry?”

That’d be a conversation for later, then. “Where’d you learn that?”

Kara didn’t answer. Lena wondered why, until she felt them turn vertical and settle on solid ground. They were at the entrance to L-Corp, she saw. Kara helped her get her feet under her, but didn’t let go. “You really don’t know where I learned that?” Lena shook her head. “I learned it from you, Lena. You are passionate, strong, and brilliant, and I don’t know what either of my selves would do without you. If you need me to remind you of that and return some of the inspiration I’ve found in you, that’s not a letdown. It’s an honor.”

Lena felt… she didn’t even know what she felt, just that there was a universe’s worth of it and it made her breathing shake. “You’d better hope I can cry and calibrate quantum phase detractors at the same time.”

“You can,” Kara stated, “and so much more. Lead on.”

Lena took her girlfriend’s hand and did just that.

* * *

_I'm taking S.A. when you’re done. I can wait in the lobby._ With that, Alex pressed 'send' on her first text to Maggie since their split.

The reply was prompt: _We're just wrapping up. Be out in a few minutes._

Soon, Detective Sawyer appeared, leading a brown-haired, olive-skinned woman with tear-stained, reddened, hollow eyes into the police station lobby. Alex moved to meet them. “Ms. Samantha Arias? Special Agent Alex Danvers, FBI.” She flashed her holographic credentials. “I’m here to take you to our op center.”

“Oh,” the woman said.

In the silence that followed, Alex tried to keep her eyes on the taller woman and away from Maggie, but that felt just as bad, so she met the detective’s eyes and nodded.

Maggie nodded back. “Danvers.”

“Sawyer.” Alex just wanted this to end. “Thank you for helping us out.”

“Just doing my job.”

“Right.” Alex swallowed a sigh. “Ms. Arias, we need to get going. Did you bring anything here with you?”

“Just my keys and wallet, I guess. I have those.”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Sam gave Maggie her heartfelt thanks, then followed Alex out of the police station. “Was that the local-federal tension I hear about?” She asked, in a transparent and unsuccessful attempt to distract herself.

Alex forced out the words, “She’s my ex.” Damn, but even though it’d been months, she hadn’t had to say that yet. With her few friends and non-existent romantic life, she'd had no need for the word 'ex'.

“Oh.”

They didn’t speak again until they reached Alex's DEO car. “I’m part of a secret task force that deals with threats like Lillian Luthor,” Alex explained. “We’re not FBI. Take this.” She held out an earpiece to Sam, who took it and knit her brows. “Lena Luthor wants you in the loop, at least for now. You’ll be able to hear everything. You can talk to us, too, but we’ll disconnect you during planning and operations. You don’t need that stress, and we can’t have any distractions.”

Sam made a face. “Is that why you came for me? To remove a distraction?”

Alex was frank. “That’s exactly why. You may be bulletproof, but you know nothing about rescuing hostages. You’re liable to get someone killed, and it will probably be your daughter.”

Sam gave her a forbidding look. “You can’t stop me.”

“I bet I can. If you had Supergirl’s strength, you’d know it already. If I have to, I will grapple you to the ground, cuff you, and put you in a cell until we’ve got Ruby back. What I can’t do is make you listen.” Alex put her hands on the mother’s upper arms. “Sam, what we’re about to do will be delicate and dangerous in the extreme. If you do anything other than stay put, you will fuck it up and get Ruby killed.”

Sam swallowed and looked away, then met the agent’s eyes and nodded. “Alright.”

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Alex said, relaxing and letting go of her arms. “Get in, and put in your earpiece. Lena’s worried about you.”

They got in the car, but before Sam tried the earpiece, she asked, “Were you checking my biceps just now?”

“What? No, I- that was just…” _I should not be stumbling this much,_ Alex thought. “I was trying to be earnest and personal.” _God, I’m turning into my sister._

Sam seemed to accept that and put in her earpiece. “Is this on?”

“In a second. Net Control, new user: Sam Arias.”

A computerized female voice replied, _“Link enabled.”_

“Did you hear that?” Alex asked the woman next to her. Sam nodded. “Try-”

 _“Sam?”_ Lena interrupted her.

“Lena?”

_“Sam! Thank god you’re alright!”_

“Forget god; thank _you_ , Lena. I’d be lost right now without you and your connections.”

Silence for a moment. _“If it weren’t for me, this wouldn’t be happening. Lillian’s doing this to blackmail me.”_

“You aren’t responsible for her choices, Lena.”

 _“I know.”_ Nevertheless, Lena sounded relieved.

Alex stepped into the conversation. “Director, what’s our status?”

J’onn’s voice came through their ears. _"No signs of Lillian or Cadmus yet. All our agents are on alert, and the FBI Hostage Rescue Team is boarding a plane as we speak.”_

“Good.” Alex turned the key and started the car. “I’m leaving for HQ with Sam Arias now.” With a glance to see that Sam was buckled in, she got moving.

_“Drive fast but safely. Director out.”_

When no one else continued the conversation, Sam asked, “If I don’t want to talk to everyone, should I take the ear thing out?”

“No, push the button on the side of it,” Alex answered. “To get on the net again, press the button again or start a sentence by addressing someone. The system knows we’re in the same place, so it won’t turn on if you’re just trying to get my attention.”

“Smart.”

“Oh, and call me ‘Alex’.”

“Thanks.” The mother pushed the button but said nothing more.

Alex drove in silence for a while, glancing at Sam when she could. The woman looked more than distraught, as though there was something gnawing at her. The sweeping shadows from the passing streetlights darkened her expression further. Finally, a stoplight gave Alex an opening to ask, “What’s bothering you, Sam?” She cringed inwardly – what a stupid question. “Sorry, I mean I can tell there’s something in addition to Ruby.”

“I killed someone.” The words were flat and lifeless.

Alex nodded and focused on projecting calm. “Why?”

Sam let out a short sigh. “Because he was stronger than me. I got his gun away by surprise, but if I didn’t use it, I couldn’t have stopped him from taking it back. Then he would’ve used it.”

“That sounds logical to me. If you wanted to protect your daughter, then your only option for effective resistance was to shoot him, and that came with a significant chance of killing him.”

There was a silence. When Sam broke it, her voice sounded small. “It wasn’t chance. I jammed the gun barrel under his jaw and grabbed his neck to help me keep it there. I executed him.”

Alex made another slow nod. “Did you tell him to stop or you’d shoot?”

“I did.”

“What did he do?”

“Struggled and tried to grab the gun.”

“And then what did you do?”

“Pulled the trigger and watched him die right in front of me.”

“Do you wish you’d done something differently?”

“I don’t know.” Sam sighed again and gazed out the side window. “It’d be easy if I felt absolutely wrong or absolutely right, but instead I’m… frustrated and angry, and disturbed that I’m not more upset about killing someone.”

“You mean you don’t feel remorse?”

“I…” The young mother sounded resigned. “I feel a knot of anger and emptiness where I feel like my remorse should be. I blew someone’s brains out. That should affect me more.”

“Sam,” Alex said in her best reassuring tone, “you’re facing more emotions than anyone should have to feel at once. Anger and frustration are probably all your mind can process right now. That’s not a character flaw.”

“Maybe you’re right.” She sounded less than convinced.

“You’ll feel it all. You’re going to wake up tomorrow and remember that you’ve taken a life.” Alex stopped; she didn’t want to tell someone how they should feel. The silence that followed was even worse, though, so she found something to say. “Don’t be alone for long stretches. You need human company more than ever.”

“Assuming I even am human.” Sam’s mutter matched her bleak eyes.

“Either way, any friend of Lena’s is a friend of ours. I’ll-”

“Those are words I’ve never heard before.” Sam seemed to reengage with the present. “How did you learn to trust her?”

“Mostly by seeing her in the company of someone I trust completely.”

Sam gave her a curious look. “Are you related to Kara Danvers?”

“She’s my sister.”

“This city is smaller than I thought,”

Alex’s lips made a half-smile. “Lena said the same thing.”

Sam, however, turned mournful. “It feels bigger than ever now.”

“I promise you,” Alex asserted, “Lillian Luthor will find out just how small this city is.”

“She’s probably not even in National City,” Sam said with growing despair. “She could be anywhere by n-”

“Hey, stop.” Alex took a hand off the wheel long enough to touch one of Sam’s. “No matter what, we will get Ruby back to you. Until then, I’ll keep you company as much as I can. Lena, too. We’re here for you.”

“I’d rather you focused on Ruby.”

“We will.” Alex smiled. “We just want to return you to her in good shape, too.”

* * *

Kara followed Bobbi through the portal and into an old-school office with exposed brick walls, a plethora of memorabilia, and a bald man with an impressive prosthetic hand. The man was demanding an explanation from Agent Morse in a tone of obvious displeasure.

“Sir, Hydra gave their alternate-universe affiliate at least one cloaking device,” Bobbi explained, “and they’ve used it to take a girl hostage. She,” the agent aimed her thumb at Supergirl, “can see in a wide spectrum. We’re going to have a look at a QuinJet.”

“Agent Morse, how many people know where this portal took you?”

“One besides her. We don’t have time to debate, Director. She’s going to test her eyes, go back to her universe, and never say word.”

Kara leveled her eyes at the director’s. “Sir, I’ve kept my identity a secret for fourteen years. I can keep this a secret, too.”

The man drew a tense breath. “Make it quick. Don’t draw attention to yourselves.” He frowned at Kara’s suit. “Put on sweats or something – and don’t thank me, Agent Morse.”

Bobbi nodded. “Yes, sir.” She led Kara on a trot to her locker for inconspicuous clothes, and then they power-walked to the hangar bay. Spotting Agent May exiting a QuinJet, the two made a beeline for her.

“Agent Morse,” May greeted as the two reached her, “What’s the hurry?”

“Cloaking test. Director’s approval. This one work?”

“Yep, just calibrated it.”

“Good.” Bobbi hurried aboard the craft’s rear hatch. In a moment, Kara saw her settle into the pilot’s seat. She flipped overhead switches, and the QuinJet’s engines hummed to life. “Cloaking system warming up… standby… active.”

Kara hissed through her teeth. Where the aircraft had been, she saw only a faint haze.

May glanced at her. “Bad?”

“Not great. If I didn’t know where to look, I might miss it.”

“Is this the angle you’ll be looking from?”

“No. Good point.” Kara glanced around, then leapt into the air above the invisible jet. If anything, this was worse; the hangar walls had offered more contrast than the gray concrete floor. She landed and waved to where she last saw Bobbi. The craft faded back into visibility, and then the engines wound down.

“You don’t look happy,” Bobbi said, after rejoining Kara.

“If Lillian cloaks her car, I’ll have to follow very close or risk losing them.”

“How close?”

“Maybe fifty feet.”

The tall agent swore. “Alright. Let’s get back.”

Just before they reached Coulson’s office and the portal to her universe, however, Kara stopped. “What is _that?”_ Bobbi followed Kara’s eyes to a large painting of a SHIELD helicarrier. When she identified it, she got a surprise; “What’s the point?” Kara asked. “Airplanes already fly.”

“It’s faster than a ship,” Bobbi answered, “so it can get to conflict zones sooner. It’s less stress on the airplane pilots, too, because they don’t have to fly hours and hours from their home bases.”

Kara’s expression changed from quizzical to sorrowful. “I’m sorry to hear that you need these things. I shouldn’t have assumed that your Earth was as peaceful as ours.”

“I flipped through a National City newspaper on my first night,” Bobbi countered, “and I recognized most of the conflicts: Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, Israel and Palestine, West Africa, eastern Ukraine, Central American drug cartels-”

“I know.” Kara’s voice was thick. “Please stop.”

Bobbi’s face showed guilt. “Sorry. I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”

“No. I mean…” Kara sighed. “Bobbi, I can save almost anyone from almost anything. I can take a bomb to the face and come away without a scratch, but I can’t be in multiple places at the same time, and I can’t stop…” She felt her throat and face tighten. “I can’t stop a war on my own.”

“Nobody can. Don’t-”

“I flew to Aleppo. ” Kara clenched her eyes against the memories. “I heard every sound of pain and… and suffering… a-and I couldn’t help. I can’t heal. I can’t… I can’t keep people safe from a nerve gas attack. And I couldn’t stop the battle without hurting and killing thousands of soldiers. I couldn’t- I couldn’t do that.” When she spoke again, her voice sounded weak and defeated. “So I left.”

Bobbi’s arms pulled Kara close and held her. “Your heart… you have a huge heart, Kara. Even with your powers, you still have far more capacity for caring than ability to help. Don’t hate yourself because you found your limit. Be proud that you’re doing all you can.”

“You remind me of Alex,” Kara mumbled into the tall blonde’s shoulder.

“Thank you. That’s a high compliment.”

“The highest.” Supergirl took a long, full breath. “Let’s go help Ruby.”

* * *

“You said you’re taking me to your command center?”

Sam’s taut voice made Alex glance at her passenger. “That’s right.”

“I won’t want to leave without Ruby.”

“We have rooms there for times like this, when we need to stay overnight. I’ll get one for you.”

Sam nodded. “Can you take me home to get some things?”

“I’ll ask.”

With J’onn’s approval and his admonition to be quick, they detoured to Sam’s house. The young CFO endured the trip in heavy silence until they arrived. “It’s going to feel empty,” she said.

“All the more reason to make it quick.”

Inside, Sam led Alex upstairs and along a hall, coming to a hesitant halt in front of a half-open door. Her hand extended, stopped short of the knob, and dropped. “I don’t want to look in, but if I close it, I’ll feel like I’m…” she clenched her eyes and fists shut.

An idea sparked in Alex’s heart. “Pack a bag for Ruby.”

Sam looked at her with new appreciation. “I will. Thank you.”

“Hey, anything.” Alex’s smile was modest, fleeting, and unexpectedly self-conscious. “May I come in with you?”

Sam nodded and stepped into Ruby’s room. When Alex followed, her heart stopped. The last child’s room she’d been in was her own. Now, with the longing to be a mom never far from her mind, every little detail struck an emotional chord. The posters: dolphins above the bed, Supergirl next to the window, and Christen Press – autographed – by the closet. The soccer trophies on the dresser, flanked by plush animals: two dolphins, a tiger, a Siberian husky, and a well-loved teddy bear. A Nerf gun poking out from under the bed. A few Lego pieces scattered around the edges of walls and furniture. A bookshelf dominated by a complete hardcover set of the _Harry Potter_ series, as well as numerous books on dolphins and two on soccer. Alex took a closer look at one of them, a serious-looking book on coaching, plays, and strategy. “Did you get her this?”

Sam looked up. “What? Oh, that book. No,” she said, sounding proud. “Ruby found that herself. She’s always read above her age.”

Alex opened to a random page and scanned it. “So is she studying this and coaching her teammates?”

“Yep. If only she’d focus like that on her math homework. She’s so like me…” Her features sank.

Leaving the book as she’d found it, Alex went and rested her hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Do you think she understands what’s happening?”

“Absolutely.” Sam sounded almost affronted. “She knows she was taken from me by force – oh, god, she must think I’m either dead or a monster.”

“You just told me,” Alex said gently, “that your daughter is intelligent, focused on what she cares about, and very much like you, so I doubt she thinks either of those things.”

“No.” Sam sighed. “I’m just scared, and I’m scared that’s she’s scared. I’m all she has, and now she’s seen me fail to protect her.”

“Sam, you’re not alone.” Alex put both hands on the woman’s arms. “You might be all Ruby has, but you aren’t all that you have. You have the DEO, Supergirl, Lena – how well does Ruby know Lena?”

Sam tilted her head, surprised by the question, and considered. “She’s met her and she knows what I think of her.”

“And what’s that?”

“That Lena Luthor is an unstoppable badass who will always have my back.”

“Then from what she knows of the two of you,´ Alex said, “I’d think that Ruby is just waiting for all hell to come raining down on the people who took her.”

Alex saw Sam’s smile for the first time. “And she knows that Supergirl shows up to fight cyborgs and bad Luthors.”

Alex smiled back. “Your daughter will get through this. We just need to focus on our part.”

“Thanks. Thank you, Alex.”

While Sam busied herself in Ruby’s closet, Alex turned her attention to the poster of her foster sister. It was based on one of James’s photos, but it’d been through a thorough Photoshop treatment to turn it into a product for a bedroom wall. The proportions of Kara’s bust, waist, and hips were unaltered, thankfully, although Alex thought that the way the editor had toned down her muscles was just as insidious. The rest of the editing adjusted colors and enhanced details which the photo didn’t present well, which seemed reasonable. The suit’s details looked accurate on first glance, but Alex knew the suit better than even Kara, and she knew where artists tended to go awry. This one had fallen into a common mistake; “They never get that right,” she muttered.

Sam looked over her shoulder. “What’s that?”

“The way Supergirl’s cape flows out of her suit.” Alex pointed. “Here, it’s sewn right to the neckline’s hem, but it should start from lower inside it.”

“Ruby won’t be able to un-see that, once she meets her.” Sam paused, then tilted her head. “What’s it like to work with Supergirl?”

“You’ll see for yourself soon,” Alex reminded her.

“No, but…” Sam looked away, sighed, and left her thought unspoken.

Alex had a suspicion of what it was. “What do I think of being around an alien?”

“Yeah.”

“How do you know I’m not an alien myself?”

Sam shook her head. “I’m asking what it’s like when humans know they’re around an alien.”

Alex shrugged. “Supergirl passes for a cheerful, educated, blonde American athlete, so she’s got all the societal markers you could ask for. Most people forget she’s an alien after a day or two. Isn’t it premature to be thinking about this, Sam?”

“I guess. We don’t even know what I am, so-”

“Sam, that’s not helpful.” Alex adopted a tone more direct than she’d used before. “You know exactly who you’ve been for all these years. You’ve been Sam Arias.”

Sam’s response was more direct as well. “That would be great, but Sam Arias just shot someone.”

“You did,” Alex said, walking across the room to stand close, “exactly what I would’ve done. And after I did it, I’d feel empty, except for a lingering sense that I’d failed, and I’d spend the rest of the night in a depressed haze. I’d think that I might as well start drinking again.” Alex, unsettled by the downward spiral of her thoughts, paused to collect herself. “Instead, I’d go to Kara’s apartment and let her take care of me. She’d insist I spend the night cuddled in her bed, the way I used to do for her when she felt hopeless and alone. Gradually – maybe the next day, maybe after a week or two – I’d accept that I made a reasonable choice to protect myself and someone I loved. That wouldn’t make me feel good about what I did, or proud of it, but I’d be able to feel like myself again. You will, too, Sam. I promise you-” Alex reached out and gripped her arm. “I promise you that, one day, you will feel like the self you knew again.” Her eyes glanced towards Ruby’s bed and the toy under it. “You will be Nerf gun mom again.”

This time, Sam’s smile was more personal, more vulnerable; “Nerf gun mom?”

Alex, feeling a wash of warm feelings in her face and chest, nodded and gave her arm a squeeze. “Nerf gun mom.”

* * *

Supergirl, to Lena’s relief, flew her back to the DEO at a more comfortable speed. They’d have to do this for fun sometime, she decided. The thought of being up in the air with Kara, supported only by her strength and power – Lena could think of no way to feel more completely _held._ Kara’s hugs had already made a tremendous improvement in her well-being, and she wanted more. “When this is over,” she said, bringing her lips to Kara’s ear to be sure her bearer heard, “let’s do some of our cuddling in the sky.”

“I would love to, Lena.”

Alighting at the DEO headquarters, they found J’onn, Alex, and Bobbi huddled around the briefing table, while Daisy kept Sam company on a bench against the wall. “Sam!” Lena ran to her subordinate and hugged her tight. “Thank god you’re alright.”

“Pretty sure he had nothing to do with it,” Sam muttered.

“Whatever the reason,” Kara said gently, “we’re thankful.”

Sam seemed to notice her for the first time. She stepped back from Lena’s embrace and said, “Supergirl.”

Kara knew well the look and sound of a person shocked and overwhelmed. “You’re not alone, and neither is Ruby. Look around you, Sam. Just about everyone in this building is devoting themselves to rescuing your daughter.”

Sam’s lips twitched in the direction of a smile, though they didn’t get far. “Thank you.”

“Sam,” Lena asked, “have you thought of anything that might-”

Sam shook her head. “No. Not a clue.”

“We’ll find out. Only if you want, I mean.” When Sam nodded, Lena looked to Alex, who’d quietly joined them. “Do you have a lab? I’d rather be here than at L-Corp.”

“We do. I’ll take you there,” Alex said to Sam. She took two steps, but stopped when Lena and Kara followed them. “Um, Sam, do you want an audience?’

“It’s fine,” the woman said tonelessly. “You said to be around people, so…” She shrugged.

“I think it’ll be good,” Alex decided, and gestured for the others to come along. In the lab, she had Sam sit in a chair rather than on an examination table, and she kept talking while she gathered instruments for a physical exam. “You’ve lived a typical human life until now, right?”

“Right,” Sam said warily.

“Have you had your blood drawn?”

Sam nodded. “I get papercuts like anyone else, too.”

“But you stop bullets,” Lena thought aloud.

“It was a surprise,” the woman said drily.

Kara smiled. “We’re all glad.”

Sam cocked her head. “You’re all very tight-knit. I didn’t know you had all these relationships, Lena.”

Kara and Lena exchanged a smile. “I didn’t either,” the CEO admitted with a bashful look.

Alex nodded to her sister, then at a clipboard on the table. “Kara, would you-”

“Kara?” Sam stared at her. “Oh my god, you’re Kara Danvers.” She smiled and turned to Lena. “How long have you known?”

Lena wet her lips and, receiving a nod from Kara, spoke. “Day before yesterday.”

Sam’s smile turned to shock. “How did it take you that long? You’ve known her for almost a year, haven’t you?”

Lena glanced down. “She… I didn’t feel like I needed to be on my guard. She’s the one person I never questioned on anything.”

“Lena.” Kara stepped closer and pulled the woman into her side.

“I still don’t,” Lena assured her, then looked to Sam again. “Do you have a bruise where you were shot?”

Sam hitched up her blouse and looked. “No. Now that you mention it, I can’t say that I’ve ever had a bruise.”

Lena considered. “It sounds like your epidermis can be sliced or pierced, but not damaged by impact.”

“Does that mean something?” Sam questioned.

Alex shook her head. “Not on its own. That’s what the tests are for.”

Pursing her lips, Sam looked at Kara. “Well, I can tell at a glance that I’m not buff like you. That rules out me being Kryptonian.”

“I don’t speculate about my friends,” Lena admonished. “We won’t draw any conclusions without data.”

Sam smiled. “You can take the scientist out of the lab-”

“But she’ll just find an excuse to get back in,” Lena finished, grinning.

“Not where I was going with that,” Sam chuckled, “but good.”

As she swabbed San’s arm and prepped a needle and several vials, Alex gave her a conspiratorial smile. “You can laugh. Remember that.”

“It seems almost wrong,” Sam muttered, as she watched Alex find a vein and draw her blood. “How can a mother laugh when her daughter is living a nightmare?”

“A nightmare? I don’t know about that.” Alex gave Sam glittering smile. “Isn’t Ruby about to spend the rest of the month telling her friends how Supergirl rescued her?”

Sam smiled back, clearly pleased by the thought. “Are you always this hopeful?”

“Not always,” Alex admitted. “Kara has to drag me out of my pessimism sometimes.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re optimistic today.”

 _Somehow it’s coming easily with you,_ Alex thought. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all of you for sticking with this story. Two months between updates seems to be the right rhythm for me, given life and other projects. As always, I love reading your comments, so please do leave them :)
> 
> If you want more in the meantime, one of those other projects features a Katie McGrath character deceitfully adopted into a powerful but broken family, a strong and principled blonde from an alien society, and… well, check out [“Sea-Wolf”](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15837054) for yourself ;) That one will update about once per week, because *gasp* the plot is actually finished!


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